Doomsday Aftermath
by Elizabeth Rose Eve Defoe
Summary: Rose Tyler is heartbroken, she has been separated from her beloved Doctor with little hope of ever seeing him again. Is there any chance of being reunited with the love of her life? Or has she lost him for good? Please r&r.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Doomsday Aftermath

Author's name: Elizabeth Rose Eve Defoe aka rosepetal

Fandom: Doctor Who

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Doctor Who they belong to the BBC and to Russell T Davies. I wrote this fan fiction purely out of love for the show and therefore do not stand to gain any profit from writing it.

Status: Work in progress (currently spans 11 chapters)

Summary: Rose has found herself separated from the Doctor after the dramatic events that took place inside Torchwood. This fanfic follows her life on the Parallel Earth as she struggles to cope living a day-after-day existence without the man she loves and the excitement that travelling with him brought.

**An entry from a diary that Rose secretly confided in after losing the Doctor**

It has been just over two months now since we said our last goodbye. That cold, wet and miserable day on the beach. I remember it well, the day I died…

My life is incomplete and without meaning now that he's gone from it. The adventure of a lifetime has slipped me by even though I thought it would go on forever.

Every night I go to bed wishing with all my heart that the next morning I will wake up and find myself looking around my bedroom inside the Tardis, but of course I never do.

This is my life now, here with my family and Mickey on a parallel Earth…a world without the Doctor…

It's not such a bad life I suppose but nothing this world has to offer could or ever will compare to travelling with the Doctor.

I got myself a job, working for Torchwood hoping that it would occupy my mind and distract me from the pain and sadness I feel…

Turns out nothing much ever happens here. The action is where the Doctor is on the proper Earth…where I belong…

This is the story of life after death…

CHAPTER 1

"Rose sweetheart, are you awake?"

Jackie knocked gently on her daughter's bedroom door. There was no answer. She tried knocking again.

"Rose…?"

Still no answer so Jackie pushed the door open, scalding herself slightly on the mug of tea she was carrying, "ouch."

"Rose...I've brought you a cup of tea...I thought it might...help somehow", she shrugged.

From underneath her duvet Rose muttered something that sounded like, "oh the solution to everything."

Jackie set down the mug of steaming tea on the bedside cabinet and pulled back the duvet. Rose was curled in the foetal position entwined in the bed sheets and it was clear from the streak marks that ran down her cheeks that she had been crying again.

"Oh sweetheart", Jackie sat down on the bed and began stroking Rose's hair. Rose turned to face her mother, her eyes glistening with tears that had yet to fall.

"Mum", she wept loudly, "I miss him so much and it hurts mum, it hurts so much like a part of me has just been ripped away and I'm broken without that missing part."

"I know darling", Jackie held her daughter tightly then dropped a kiss on her head and released her again.

"Drink your tea it's just the thing for heating the…oh what was it" , Jackie frowned trying to remember, "...oh I know the synapses." Jackie looked triumphant.

"What are synapses?" Jackie wondered to herself.

Rose sat up and reached for the mug of tea, taking a sip she turned to face her mother, a slight smile upon her face.

"That's what he used to say...the Doctor, oh and always take a banana to a party, bananas are good." She scratched the back of her head with her free right hand, a mannerism she had picked up from the Doctor.

Jackie sighed, at last she had managed to get a smile out of her daughter - since returning from Norway, Rose's expression had been stubbornly glum - which was to be expected under the circumstances.

"Hm he was always coming out with funny things?" Jackie remembered fondly. "All that technical mumbo jumbo."

Rose wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her pyjamas and ran her fingers through her tangled hair.

"That's one of the things that I loved most about him...the random things he came out with" , she choked. "I wonder what he's doing now."

"Probably running for his life on some alien planet somewhere, knowing his love for trouble."

"As long as he's not found someone else to travel around with…you don't think he has do you?" Rose chewed her nail anxiously.

Jackie sighed again, "I don't know...it must be so lonely in that Tardis."

Rose felt a wave of empathy for her Doctor, she had her family and he had no-one, he was all alone again in a big universe, the last of the time lords - the rest of his race being dead - so surely she couldn't be selfish enough as to begrudge him a little company. She felt a lump rising in her throat, she swallowed painfully and took another sip of tea.

"Oh I forgot to mention it before but we've been invited to a party next week" , Jackie broke the silence.

Rose frowned, "Where?"

"I dunno, it's at the house of someone Pete knows, isn't it exciting though?

Rose gulped down some more of her rapidly cooling tea.

"Yeah...yeah exciting."

"Well you could sound just a little more enthusiastic", Jackie was put out.

"Mum it's just...I've travelled through the whole of time and space, I've seen the sun expand and the earth die, I've experienced life during the blitz, I've seen so many kinds of aliens and monsters and impossible things like a planet that existed beneath a black hole without being pulled in. So I'm really sorry if I don't sound too thrilled at the prospect of a party but you can understand yeah?"

Jackie exhaled and rubbed Rose's shoulder. Rose gulped down the rest of her tea, trying to distract herself from the burning sensation in her eyes as more tears threatened to fall. She leaned forward on her bed and settled the mug on top of the cabinet once more.

"I thought we could go shopping later, when you're dressed."

Rose nodded. "Sure sounds great" , there was a little sarcasm in her voice.

"Well I'll let you get up now" , Jackie collected the empty mug and left the room closing the door behind her.

Rose sat still for a moment before slipping out of the bed and padding over to her closet. Most of her old clothes had been left behind in the Tardis so her dad had treated her to a whole new wardrobe.

Rose unbuttoned her pyjama top and shrugged it off, then she picked out a top at random and put it on. Her jeans were all folded neatly at the bottom of the closet and she just took the nearest pair, slid off her pyjama bottoms and pulled on the jeans.

She went to her dressing table and sitting down on her little stool she surveyed her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a complete mess, her eyes were a little red from crying and she looked pale. Taking her hairbrush from the top drawer she began to give her tangled hair a good seeing to. Then she applied some makeup to her cheeks and lips - she didn't bother with eye makeup anymore as it usually ended up running down her face - finally she smacked her lips together and scraped the stool back across the floor.

As Rose descended down the stairs to the hallway Mickey came out of the lounge, he looked up as he spotted her out of the corner of his eye.

"Mornin' Rose you big sleepyhead."

Rose continued walking down the stairs and stopped a few paces away from him.

"It's the weekend, I'm allowed to sleep in" , she started in mock indignation.

Mickey laughed and held his arms out to her welcoming her into a hug. Rose obliged and felt Mickey's arms embracing her. Mickey's hugs were nice but it didn't stop her closing her eyes and imagining it was the Doctor's arms around her. She pulled away and stood looking at Mickey for a while.

He had changed so much in the last year from the cowardly Mickey who had been afraid of pretty much everything - including her mum, Jackie - to the strong, courageous Mickey who had taken it upon himself to continue the war against Cybus Industries and the Cybermen.

"What?" Mickey asked, frowning.

"Nothing" , Rose shrugged, "Just thinking how much you've changed."

"For the better I hope."

Rose nodded. "Definitely, you were such a wuss before, clinging onto me for support."

"Now it's the other way round" , Mickey grinned broadly.

"Hey" , Rose punched his arm playfully, "I'm not clingy."

"No, no just kidding, but seriously you have been a lot more affectionate since.…", his voice trailed away."

"Since the Doctor left me?" Rose asked.

Mickey looked at his feet, he had said the wrong thing.

"He didn't leave you Rose, you know that."

Rose sniffed. "I know it's just that he said he would never leave me and I thought I'd stay with him forever. I hadn't bargained on being trapped in a parallel Universe with no way back to him.

"Yeah, but you've still got me and your parents and soon a little baby brother or sister."

Rose smiled but again it was only a small smile, she didn't feel much like smiling nowadays.

Jackie appeared from the kitchen.

"Rose there you are. Are you ready to go shopping yet? Your dad's waiting outside in the car."

"Yep I'll just grab my trainers, you coming Mickey?"

"Yeah cos a girly shopping trip is right up my street" , Mickey shook his head.

"Your loss" , Rose called back to him as she ran off to fetch a pair of trainers.

"You took your time" , Pete remarked as Rose clambered into the Jeep.

Jackie was already sat in the front seat checking her reflection in the small wing mirror.

"Sorry, I was talking to Mickey."

"He didn't want to come then?"

Pete chuckled.

"No shopping's not his thing."

Pete turned the key in the ignition and put the gear in reverse. The jeep chugged noisily and the wheels crunched on the gravelly ground as it backed out of the driveway. Mickey was looking out of a window watching them leave and Rose waved to him. Maybe some retail therapy was just what she needed…perhaps.


	2. Chapter 2

"Rose what about this", Jackie held up a frilly pink dress oblivious to her daughter's look of complete horror.

"Mum, I'm twenty years old there is no way I'm wearing that. I'm not a little girl anymore."

A look of nostalgia lit up Jackie's face as she started to reminisce.

"You'll always be my little girl."

"Yeah, maybe so but I'm still not wearing that, it's hideous." Rose pulled a face and turned back to the clothes rack she had been idly browsing through. Two hours of searching through an entire shopping mall had so far proved fruitless although perhaps this wouldn't have been the case if Rose had been the least bit interested in shopping in the first place. Jackie already had her dress, a beautiful, mid-length, midnight-blue one-shoulder gown. Rose wasn't really fussed what she wore as long as it wasn't pink and frilly or too revealing.

"Oooh what about this?" Jackie held up a long, ruby coloured strapless gown.

Rose thought the dress was stunning, a beautiful colour, no frills and not too revealing, perfect.

"Wow! mum I love it, it's gorgeous."

"Well try it on then and see if it fits."

A few moments later Rose emerged from the changing cubicle and paraded in front of the large floor mirror.

"It's beautiful", she breathed, "if only the Doctor could see me now..."

"Yes his eyes would be out on stalks and his tongue would be hanging out of his mouth", Jackie folded her arms disapprovingly.

"Mum he's not like that, he's different to other blokes", Rose was suddenly annoyingly reminded of the time when the Doctor had nearly abandoned her and Mickey on a spaceship in the 51st century to go and rescue Madame de Pompadour from a load of clockwork androids which meant trapping himself in eighteenth century France with apparently no way back to them or the TARDIS. "Ok", she thought to herself, "maybe he is like other blokes."

Rose snapped out of her thoughts and realised Jackie was staring at her. "What?" Rose's tone was accusing and harsh.

"I can't get over how sophisticated you look, you're so grown up now, a proper woman."

"Now, don't start getting all nostalgic on me", Rose frowned.

"I can't help it, seems like only yesterday that me and you know...your other dad brought you home from the hospital. I was so proud when they put you in my arms, my little girl, Rose Marion Tyler." Jackie's eyes glistened and a small tear trickled down her cheek. "I nearly lost you, when you decided to go back to him...to the Doctor. We could be worlds apart right now...", Jackie gasped, all too aware that she had made a mistake. Rose struggled to ignore the prickling sensation in her eyes and the ache in her throat. Her chest felt taut and constricted and she struggled to get her breath.

"Instead I'm worlds apart from my Doctor", Rose's voice broke. "It wasn't supposed to be like this, I told him that he wasn't alone. But now he is, I failed him."

"Lets not cause a scene here Rose, Jackie said observing the other customers in the shop who were looking over curiously. You get changed and we'll pay for your dress and I'll call your dad and tell him to meet us back at the car."

Rose nodded unable to trust herself to speak without bursting into tears. Inhaling deeply, Rose went back into the cubicle and ever so quietly in the privacy of the little room she began to cry as she changed back into her t-shirt and jeans.

"Hello ladies", Pete called as Rose and Jackie scrambled back into the jeep, "Get what you want?"

"Yes we found some lovely dresses, didn't we Rose?" Jackie enthused.

"Oh yeah...lovely." Rose was deep in thought about the Doctor again and barely heard what Jackie said to her.

"How much is my credit card overdrawn by then?" Pete joked as he started up the jeeps engine and once again it chugged into life.

Rose was very quiet on the journey back, she just sat gazing out of the window, idly watching the clouds float by. Everything made her think about the Doctor, no matter where she went there were always small reminders of what she had lost forever. Earlier whilst she had been shopping Rose had happened upon a pin-striped suit very much like one that the Doctor wore and often she thought she heard the sound of the TARDIS materialising, but it was just her overworked imagination playing unkind tricks on her every time. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, trying to remember their last goodbye, trying to visualise him as clearly as she could. He had made such a lonely figure, so slim and his face troubled with sadness. Rose choked back a sob and opened her eyes, the jeep was pulling into the driveway and Mickey came out of the front door to greet them.

"Hiya Rose", Mickey opened the heavy door for her and helped her step down from the huge vehicle, meanwhile Pete was doing the same for Jackie.

"So what did you get?" Mickey looked inquisitively at the bag Rose had just taken out of the jeep."

"It's a surprise, you'll have to wait till the night of the party", Rose teased, somehow Mickey's presence always made her feel better.

"Aww that's a shame cos I won't be there, me and Jake are going to Belgium to investigate a reported sighting of Cybermen. It's probably nothing but you know", Mickey shrugged apologetically.

"Yeah I know, you've got a duty to perform", Rose tried to look positive.

They walked across the gravelly ground and went in through the huge front doors to the hallway beyond.

"Hey I was thinking, since I'm gonna miss the party maybe you could show me the dress now", Mickey winked.

Rose pretended to ignore him and began ascending the staircase to her bedroom. He followed her asking persistently until Rose finally snapped.

"If it's such a big deal I'll show you the stupid dress."

"With you in it?" Mickey was being cheeky, but he was relieved to see a smile part Rose's lips.

"Yes, ok, but you'll have to leave the room while I change", she shooed him out of the door and Mickey left delighted.

Mickey still had strong feelings for his ex-girlfriend and he suspected that Rose had similar feelings for him but neither had done anything to explore those feelings since being reunited again. He understood that she was still grieving for the Doctor but that didn't mean that he couldn't flirt with her a bit. Mickey fancied Rose like crazy and he paced about the landing excitedly until the door to her room opened again.

Rose poked her head around the door nervously, her cheeks flushed a bright pink hue.

"Don't laugh alright."

She disappeared behind the door again and slowly opened it, her heart hammering in her chest. Mickey almost fell backwards as Rose emerged onto the landing, she looked incredible, so beautiful, so sexy.

"Well?" Rose asked timidly.

Mickey couldn't speak, his mouth seemed to be glued shut by some mysterious, invisible substance. Rose frowned and looked at her feet.

"That bad huh?" She muttered.

Finally Mickey managed to make a sound.

"Wow..", he swallowed and tried again, "you look...amazing."

Rose flushed pink again and she tried to hide her face with her hands.

"You really think so?" She breathed, feeling her stomach fluttering.

"Seriously, you look absolutely stunning, you'll knock 'em dead at the party."

Rose walked over to him and tenderly kissed his cheek before going into her bedroom once more and closing the door quietly behind her. Mickey absently moved his hand to stroke the spot that she had caressed so softly and let out a gentle sigh.

"Rose Tyler", he grinned to himself, "you certainly know how to get my pulse going."


	3. Chapter 3

The beach was bathed in darkness and the grey sea was lit by the light of the moon. The waves crashed upon the shore and rain droplets began to fall. The hooded figure walked slowly but purposefully across the sand to stand by the waterside, looking out to the horizon. The figure let the hood fall revealing a young woman with blonde hair. The night air was cool against her exposed face, refreshing and calming. She was unaware that further up the beach another figure had materialised. This figure was taller, more manly, he seemed to be swathed in a long coat. Hidden in shadow, he watched as the woman turned around slowly and began to walk towards him still unaware of his presence. Then he called to her, softly at first, "Rose", then he beckoned to her with more urgency until he cried out, "ROSE…

Rose hesitated feeling the sound of her name wash over her, hardly daring to breathe, hardly daring to believe that it was really him. "Doctor?", she answered, starting to approach him. "Rose it's me", the man looked directly at her. "DOCTOR", Rose shouted, her voice echoing in the night air. She ran, her heart beating fast and skidded to a halt beside him. She studied his face, his untidy brown hair and felt herself being pulled into a tight embrace, then she felt herself falling and with a thud she hit the ground.

Rose awoke coughing and spluttering, the taste of wet sand so real in her mouth. For a moment she forgot where she was and assumed that she must be on a beach somewhere. It took a short while for her to realise it had only been a dream. She swallowed hard and lay back down, it was still night she could see the stars shining in the pitch black sky through a gap in the curtains. Daylight was several hours away, she should try and get some more sleep. Rose shut her eyes and rolled over onto her side, trying to get comfy, willing sleep to come.

"Rose", he was calling to her again. This time Rose was in some kind of woodland area, trees all around her, dense and threatening. She felt so closed in, she tried to move her feet, to run but for some reason she had lost all feeling in her legs and she just collapsed onto the sodden earth, mud splattering all over her. Somebody held out a hand to her, and she pulled herself to her feet. "Thanks", she mumbled, brushing off the clumps of dirt that stuck to her. "Anytime", the man grinned showing sparkling white teeth. "Rose looked up when the man spoke and met his steady gaze, it was the Doctor again. Rose smiled. "Always on hand to help a damsel in distress eh?" She prodded him playfully. The Doctor stopped grinning. "Rose, it's not safe here, we've got to get away, now, run." He grabbed her hand and practically dragged her through the thicket, slowing to work out which direction to go in. "WHERE'S THE TARDIS?", Rose yelled, panting hard, trying to keep up with the Doctor's fast pace. "It's around here somewhere", he called back over his shoulder, "if only I could remember where", the Doctor muttered more to himself than to Rose. "AH HA", he exclaimed loudly, "there she is." He let go his firm grasp on Rose's hand and ran to the blue police call box, he took out the TARDIS key and unlocked the door. "Ok Rose everything's fine now…Rose…ROSE", the Doctor bellowed, "LOOK OUT." Rose screamed as a large paw with sharp, glistening claws descended down on her. Then all she saw was darkness.

Rose awoke and sat bolt upright, her heart beating fast and her breath coming in shallow gasps. Where was the beast that had tried to kill her? She looked wildly about her, shaking, beads of sweat forming on her brow. A sudden feeling of relief hit her. It was alright she was safe, in her bedroom, it had just been another dream. Terrifyingly real, but still just a dream.

"Twice in one night", Rose thought aloud, "must have an overactive imagination." She rubbed her eyes and let out a long yawn. "I'm exhausted…good job it's only Sunday." Sunlight was leaking through the crack in the curtains, turning to look at her small alarm clock, Rose saw that it was close to midday.

There was a knock at her door and Rose just had time to say, "Who is it", before Mickey came in carrying a tray laden with a bowl of cereal, a rack of toast and a large jug of orange squash.

"Thought you might like your breakfast in bed lazybones", Mickey smiled and set the tray down on the bed next to Rose.

"It's nearly midday", Rose reminded him with a frown, "bit late for breakfast."

"I know, I just wanted to treat you", Mickey looked sheepish and went to draw open the curtains.

"Let a bit of sunlight in", he said, trying to hide his embarrassment. Rose watched as Mickey pulled the cord and the curtains shifted apart and bright rays filtered into the room.

"Thanks Mickey, it was a nice thought", she indicated the tray.

Mickey shrugged, and crossed the room to sit down at the end of her bed. Since yesterday afternoon he had been thinking non stop about Rose, he'd barely got any sleep and he ached all over from exhaustion caused by a restless night, but he would not complain.

"So…", Rose said as she took a bite out of a piece of toast, "what have you been up to today?" Rose spoke through a mouthful of bread and she sounded muffled.

"This and that you know. I got up pretty early and went for a jog, to clear my head and then I changed a tyre on the jeep, it was completely flat, a stone or something must have punctured it. Oh, Jake phoned, asked after you."

Rose poured herself a glass of orange. "Oh yeah? What did you say?"

"Yeah you're getting on alright at Torchwood, you're getting on with your life."

Rose nodded. "It's all I can do. My old life…travelling with the Doctor is…over", she looked solemn for a moment, reflecting.

"It's always about him isn't it? Everything I say makes you think about him doesn't it?"

Anger rose within Mickey, an anger he hadn't felt towards the Doctor since he had first taken Rose away in the TARDIS. He gritted his teeth trying to push the fury and jealousy back down but now that it had already broken it's way to the surface of his emotions it was impossible to quell his wrath.

Rose looked slightly scared as she listened open-mouthed to the tirade of angry words that poured forth from Mickey as he got to his feet and stood towering over her his face livid.

"It doesn't matter what I do or say, it's always him that you're thinking about. That's never gonna change is it Rose? Huh? Cos you dumped me to run off to the stars with him", he spat furiously and swallowed hard.

"It wasn't like that", Rose said quietly, "he offered to show me the whole of time and space, how could I turn that down? I didn't want to fall in love with him, it just…happened. I loved you…I never would have left you for another bloke but…I couldn't say no to the adventure of a lifetime, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life."

Rose felt a tremendous amount of guilt, knowing she had treated Mickey so badly over the past two years. He didn't deserve that, he didn't deserve her, her selfishness. Mickey put his hand up to stoke her shoulder comfortingly. The rage had gone from his eyes.

"I dunno what came over me…I'm sorry."

Rose smiled and touched the hand he had on her shoulder with her own, caressing his fingers.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything…you've done nothing wrong."

"I love you Rose Tyler", Mickey burst out before he could stop himself. He gasped and clapped his hand to his mouth, why had he said that? He was such a fool Rose moved his hand off her shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I know how you feel Mickey…and I wish I felt the same…it would be so much easier if I did. I care greatly for you but I'm not in love with you anymore…I'm sorry."

Mickey nodded his head sadly, he understood completely what she was saying, but it still hurt to hear that she didn't want him anymore. Mickey patted her shoulder and left the room quietly without saying another word. He needed some time to himself, but most of all he needed to move on and find someone else to waste all of his affections on.

Rose decided she didn't want anymore of her breakfast but that she did rather fancy some chips. Even now that she lived in a mansion house she still got frequent cravings for chips despite all the posh food she was served at mealtimes.

"Mum, dad, I'm going out…I'll be back in a bit", Rose shouted as she buttoned her dark jacket and went out of the front door. She stuffed her hands into her jeans pockets and walked swiftly across the drive, the gravel crunching beneath her trainers. She pressed the buzzer inside the gates to let herself out and entered into the street. The chip shop was just around the corner in the next street no more than a fifteen minute walk. She turned right and strolled along the pavement watching the birds as they swooped and darted across the cloudless sky.

Ten minutes later Rose was standing in the line queuing for her chips. The smell from the kitchen wafted towards her nostrils. "Mmmm chips." Rose reached the counter and ordered a large portion, she took a few coins from her pocket and placed them on the counter.

"One large portion of chips, enjoy", the young boy - who couldn't have been anything more than a teenager - winked at her and she felt herself blush.

"Thanks", Rose scooped up her chips and hurried out of the shop almost bumping into the man coming in the opposite direction.

"Sorry", Rose muttered, biting a steaming hot chip in half.

"Rose Tyler…", the man smiled watching her try to eat the chip without burning her mouth, "it's been a while", he said running a hand through his blonde hair.


	4. Chapter 4

The man's regional accent was familiar to Rose, she looked up and met his twinkling blue eyes.

"Jake", she exclaimed, then with an after thought she held out the greasy packet, offering him some of her chips.

"Ouch, thanks", he grinned, licking salt off his fingers. "I was just on my way over to your place, got some business to discuss with Mickey. Did he tell you we're going to Belgium next week?

"Yeah, he said somebody had reported seeing Cybermen", Rose answered knowledgeably as she blew on a chip before devouring it.

Jake nodded his head and moved to allow an elderly woman with a trolley to pass by.

"That's right, top secret though mind, don't go telling anyone else. Although, it's probably nothing, there haven't been any other Cybermen sightings for months."

"I won't tell anyone, promise." Rose assured him.

Umm I'm going back to the house now…you can walk with me if you like. I'll be glad of the company."

"I was gonna go get some chips first…", Jake pointed at the shop behind them.

"Share mine", said Rose generously, "there's no way I can eat all of these, my eyes are bigger than my stomach."

"If you're sure…how can I refuse", he grinned again.

Together they walked off down the street chatting casually, eating Rose's chips. When they reached the tall, wrought iron gates of the Tyler residence Rose pressed the intercom and spoke into it. "Hi it's me, and Jake has come round to see Mickey. A soft buzzing noise could be heard before the gates clicked open. They walked through and the gates automatically clanged shut behind them.

"It's all high security here isn't it?" Jake smiled, looking at Rose.

"Well if you can afford it…", she replied, "and my dad certainly can."

They reached the front door and Rose after a bit of digging around in her jeans pocket retrieved her house key and let them both in.

"Mickey's probably in his room, Rose informed Jake.

"He's not actually", Mickey strode out of the lounge, "good to see you Jake", Mickey acknowledged his friend. Then he frowned and touched the top of his own head.

"What happened to your hair?" It's bright blonde.

"You noticed then", Jake rolled his eyes. "I had an accident with some bleach…left it on too long. I was experimenting trying something new."

"Well…it's a good look, Mickey sniggered sarcastically."

Rose giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. She had wanted to ask Jake about his hair on the way back from the chip shop but she hadn't wanted to sound rude so she dismissed the question and they had talked about her job at Torchwood instead.

"Yeah anyway enough talk about the hair, there are more important issues to be discussed", Jake had grown tired of the teasing.

"Can we talk somewhere more private, only I don't want the staff overhearing", Jake surveyed all around him as he spoke and noticed a young maid who retreated quickly into the lounge when she saw him look at her.

"Sure, we can use my room, see you later Rose."

Mickey showed Jake up the staircase and they disappeared off down the landing to the far end where Mickey's bedroom was situated.

Rose put the last of her chips in her mouth, scrunched up the wrapping and went into the kitchen where she binned the crumpled paper. All the salt on the chips had made her thirsty so she reached down a glass from the cabinet of glassware and went to the fridge and poured herself some orange. She sank down onto a chair at the large kitchen table and sipped slowly, drinking in the cool liquid.

Once she had emptied the glass she took it to the sink and washed it thoroughly with ice cold water. She replaced it on the shelf and turned around to see Jackie standing in the doorway.

"Haven't seen you all day, did you oversleep again?"

"I had…a rough night, I still keep having those dreams."

"About the Doctor?" Jackie's expression was full of concern.

Rose sighed and blinked away a tear that had just formed in the corner of her eye. Once again she felt a lump rising in her throat and an ache of misery.

"Mum…I can't stop thinking about him…he even haunts my dreams.

Jackie watched uneasily as more tears began trickling. She couldn't bear that Rose was hurting so much. She went to her daughter and hugged her tightly as Rose's crying became more noisy. She stroked her back comfortingly and tried soothing her with soft words.

After a while Rose began to feel better and her anguished sobs became fewer and quieter. She drew apart from her mother and ripping a paper towel from the roll she began to dab at her eyes which stung with soreness.

"I must look a right state", Rose sniffed.

"No sweetheart…you look beautiful.

Rose managed a small smile and gave her mother a brief hug.

"Thanks mum, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Jackie patted her daughter's shoulder gently. "I don't know what I would have done for all those years without you, you were my rock. My beautiful little girl. I was completely lost when you disappeared for a whole year with no word and no phone call. I struggled through each day as it came clinging onto a tiny piece of hope that you would come home, because that's all I had."

"All the while I was travelling about the Universe in a blue police box unaware that twelve months had passed by since I left. When we arrived back at the estate the Doctor told me we'd been gone no longer than twelve hours. Must have been quite a shock to see me." Rose shuffled her feet as she felt a surge of guilt.

"I thought you were a ghost, that I'd lost my mind and was seeing things."

"Yeah, it's no wonder you slapped the Doctor", Rose laughed remembering.

"I could have killed him, making me think my daughter was dead and what about Mickey I accused him of murder poor lad, but what was I supposed to think?"

Rose shrugged. It was helping to talk about the life she had shared with the Doctor, after getting past the initial tears and agony of repeatedly realising that she had lost him forever. However, she was lucky at least to have a wonderful family who showed their support and Mickey who would never give up on her. Rose really was thankful to have her dad back but in all honesty if she was being completely truthful, nothing compared to the Doctor and the life she had once had with him. Now the only place she ever saw him was in her dreams and even then they had never been allowed to be together, something had always come between them and Rose was left all alone, yearning for her Doctor to come back and save her from a meaningless existence.

"Do you think he's alright mum…on his own?"

"Who…the Doctor…? He'll be fine sweetheart, it's not the first time he's been alone."

"I wanted to stay with him…I guess it wasn't meant to be. A human girl and a time lord."

Rose sighed quietly and dabbed at her eyes again. Jackie gave her daughter an encouraging smile and rubbed her shoulder.

"I have to learn to be strong…to be the Rose that he loves", Rose said decisively. "No more tears, no more wallowing in misery and self pity, I've just gotta move on with my life and face what happens or what doesn't happen. Perhaps it's not too late for me to get back with Mickey…what do you think? Continue from where we left off."

"You two have changed so much though, is that really still what you both want?"

"What I want is the Doctor…but I can't have him so…"

"You would just settle for second best? A relationship could never work like that."

"I know…and Mickey deserves better…but I dunno what to do…I never imagined this happening…being stuck on a parallel Earth forced to lead an ordinary life day after day.

"Mickey worships you, you know, he practically kisses the ground you walk on. If you choose to go back to him then it has to be because you mean it."

Rose swallowed hard and nodded, understanding what Jackie was saying to her.

"I don't love him anymore…it wouldn't be fair…"

"You've made the right choice, you're saving yourself and Mickey from a lot of heartache."

Rose's mouth formed a thin-lipped smile, there was no question that she had done the right thing.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a delightful, warm summers evening, the sky in the west was tinged with red and purple hues - a perfect sunset - and the Tylers were taking full advantage of it. They, as well as Mickey and Jake, were sat outside on the patio overlooking the vast, beautiful, landscaped gardens enjoying their evening meal in the fresh air. Jake was to stay the night in a spare bedroom and then both he and Mickey would embark on their trip to Belgium early next morning. Rose had already promised herself that she would have an early night and be in bed before ten so as to be wide awake for work the following day.

Rose sipped at her glass of expensive, red wine, pulling a face of displeasure. It might cost a fortune but it still didn't agree with her taste buds, she preferred the cheap stuff like a nice sparkling Asti. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Mickey imbibed some of his own drink and his features contorted into an expression of dissatisfaction. Pete meanwhile seemed to be savouring every drop, Rose supposed it was an acquired taste.

Beside her, Mickey and Jake were talking amongst themselves and her mum and dad seemed engrossed in discussion about something or other, which just left Rose to eat her dinner quietly. This suited her fine as she was tired and this made her reluctant to join in with any conversation.

Wearily she picked at her food, forcing herself to chew and swallow, she felt her eyes beginning to close sleepily. Hopefully she wouldn't have another restless night punctuated by dreams and nightmares, or she would be dead on her feet the next day. She drank from her wine glass again, the taste bitter on her tongue. Why on Earth did people drink this stuff, she couldn't help wondering to herself, did people really enjoy inflicting unpleasantness on themselves?

Jake spoke softly in her left ear, making her jump ever so slightly.

"Would you like some more wine Rose?", he leaned over, noticing that her glass was almost empty.

"No thanks…I've had plenty already", Rose replied politely.

"You've only had the one glass…are you sure?"

"Yes, thanks."

Jake turned away from her and resumed talking to Mickey. Mickey caught Rose's eye and raised an eyebrow as if to say, "what, Rose Tyler turning down a drink…" Rose shrugged and went back to eating her dinner, quietly. She wasn't used to such fine cuisine, what with being brought up on a council estate on pretty much just chips and then travelling with the Doctor didn't allow much time for consuming more than a few quick snacks and as a consequence she had lost quite a bit of weight. But she was piling the pounds back on now, eating four-course meals every evening which usually consisted of: a bowl of soup for starters; tender, fattening juicy meat for the main course; a delicious but highly rich in calories pudding and to finish cheese and biscuits.

Tonight Rose didn't have much of an appetite, she felt fatigued and just wanted to curl up somewhere cosy and fall asleep. She pushed her plate away from her and stood up.

"I'm gonna walk around the gardens for a bit before I go to bed", she announced, unsure if anyone had actually heard what she had said.

She descended down the set of steps onto the lawns that stretched out before her and followed a winding path all the way to the far end of the garden where a large pond and wooden bridge lay. Rose stepped up onto the bridge and leant over the balustrade peering down, looking past the lilies to the murky depths below. A movement behind the trees which enclosed this part of the garden made her look up curiously. Moments later Jake appeared, strolling casually towards her. Rose pretended not to have noticed and concentrated on a particularly large fish that seemed to be chasing a shoal of smaller fish.

Jake came up onto the bridge and stood very near to her. Rose shifted, a little uncomfortable of how close he was.

"What you looking at?" Jake bent his head towards the pond.

"Nothing much…where's Mickey?"

"He's gone off to bed, thought I'd stay up a while longer."

Rose swallowed, her heart beating fast, as she felt his warm breath on the back of her neck.

"Rose, I was wondering…", she turned slowly around to face him, acutely aware that she was pressed up against the balustrade with little room to move.

"Yes?" Rose bit her lip, sure that she knew what Jake was going to say.

"Since you and Mickey aren't an item anymore..."

Rose's heart sank, there was no doubt over where this was leading.

"Would it be wrong of me to ask you out?"

Rose's eyes trailed over him, taking in his handsome features and rippling torso which she could make out through his t-shirt. She swallowed, she couldn't do this to Mickey, not with his best friend. Mickey might have had a drunken fling with one of her mates behind her back but she wasn't about to do the same to him.

"Jake...I'm sorry...I like you but as a friend and besides", she continued awkwardly, "it wouldn't be fair on Mickey, he's suffered enough hurt over me."

Jake nodded, understanding.

"And of course then there's my feelings for the Doctor...I just can't."

"Yeah I figured it would be a no...still can't blame me for trying", he flashed her a big grin similar to the ones that the Doctor gave her and Rose felt a shiver run down her spine.

"So…umm", she stuttered, feeling ridiculously nervous all of a sudden, "you, you're ok with that?"

"Sure, it's fine, I knew it was a long shot anyway...don't worry about it."

Rose was relieved, she had handled the situation quite well and Jake didn't seem all that bothered that she wasn't interested. Although she was interested, there was no denying that to herself. The old Rose would have jumped at the chance to date a guy like Jake, but she had changed so much in two years that she hardly recognised herself anymore.

"I'm sorry…", Rose put her arms around his waist and drew him into a hug trying to show him how sorry she really was. His body felt warm and protective against hers as she rested her head against his chest. She was so comfortable that she found it difficult to prise herself away from him. Then before she knew what she was doing she allowed herself to share a short, tender kiss with him as he lifted her chin gently with his fingertips. Their lips parted and Rose backed away as far as she could, staring at him with a look of regret.

"That shouldn't have happened…I don't know…", Rose stammered, feeling extremely guilty.

Jake didn't say anything, instead he took her hand in his and looked deep into her eyes. An understanding passed between them, that moment had been a mistake, a once off and it wouldn't be happening again.

"I'm gonna go to bed now", Rose brushed his hand off hers, stepped off the bridge and proceeded to follow the winding path back to the house. As she walked she replayed their kiss over and over again in her mind unable to erase the scene from her thoughts. A little way behind her Jake was strolling along, hands in his jeans pockets. He quickened his pace to join her and caught her up just before she climbed up onto the patio, which was deserted now.

"What is it?" Rose asked him rather crisply.

"Nothing…just wanted to say goodnight."

"Oh…well goodnight", she didn't look at him but carried on walking inside.

Jake meanwhile sat down heavily in a chair his head in his hands. Why had he done that, he knew she was off limits so why?

About fifteen minutes later after she had washed and brushed her teeth and changed into her polka dot pyjamas, Rose lay snuggled under her duvet, curled into a ball. A single tear rolled down her cheek and splashed her pillow leaving a tiny wet patch. She sniffed and buried her head in the pillow trying to block out everything that had happened between her and Jake. Then she rolled over onto her back and pulled the duvet up to her chin. A few minutes passed, she lay silent, contemplating her actions. Rose's eyelids began to droop sleepily and then there was darkness.

Colours swirled behind her closed eyes, blending together to make a picture. The image gathered more clarity and soon Rose could make out the garages near the Powell estate and the TARDIS, the noise of its engines so familiar to her now. With a rapid beating heart she realised that something in her jeans pocket was burning her. She pulled her sleeve down to cover her hand and retrieved the hot piece of metal, the TARDIS key. Hesitantly she walked over to the TARDIS and fitted the key in the lock. Carefully she turned it and the doors clicked open. Rose pushed her way inside and saw that the Doctor was standing at the console his eyes fixed on the centre column watching it fluctuate up and down. Rose moved towards him, her footsteps echoing on the metal flooring. The Doctor ran a hand through his messy brown hair and turned to face her, a look of deep disappointment etched on his face.

"I know what you did Rose…"


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

"No Rose without a thorn."

The words echoed round and round in Rose's unconscious mind. A circling loop playing continuously, "no Rose without a thorn."

Rose was falling through darkness, falling deeper and deeper. The shadows creeping in closer and closer engulfing her, drowning her in their bleakness. She tried to struggle free of their relentless grip as they dragged her down, down into the bottomless pit and still those words were haunting her, screaming inside her brain, "no Rose without a thorn." The Doctor's voice sounded maliciously cruel, biting into every sense, twisted and evil.

"DOCTOR", Rose cried out.

"PLEASE…"

Rose's eyes flicked open and she was aware that she was breathing very heavily, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. The words had faded now, and she was just left with a feeling of tremendous guilt that was eating away at her. Her head was throbbing and the darkened room spun before her as she forced herself into a sitting position. A wave of nausea crept over her, she cradled her head in her hands, trying to ignore the sickness she felt.

This was her punishment for betraying the Doctor she told herself, bereft of all rational thought. Somehow he knew what she had done and he was chastising her through the power of dreams. Then sense took a hold of Rose, the Doctor couldn't possibly know. It became increasingly clear to her that she was the one dealing out the punishment, she was the one giving herself a hard time. Subconsciously the guilt she felt had imprinted itself on her brain and was now torturing her mercilessly. Causing her to have nightmares, forcing her to confront her fears.

The nausea left her and still trembling Rose lay back down and pulled the bed covers tightly around her, curling herself into a ball to warm her shivering bones.

Rose awoke a good few hours later to find that her room was bathed in a warm, golden glow and that evidently the sun had risen quite a while ago. Rolling onto her side so she could read the illuminated display on her alarm clock she discovered to her horror that she had overslept quite spectacularly. A moments pause before she spurred herself into action, kicking away the bedcovers and throwing back the duvet. She swung her feet to the floor and simultaneously rubbed her bleary eyes to clear her vision before she stumbled over to her closet and rummaged around for her Torchwood uniform complete with name badge.

At the top of the staircase Rose smoothed down her crisp white shirt to remove any creases and adjusted her regulation black skirt. She glanced at the delicate silver watch on her wrist and calculated that she had around ten minutes before the next bus arrived, the only one for at least another hour. Rose descended the stairs quickly and slipping and sliding in her stockinged feet crossed the hall to the cloakroom to get her jacket. Her stomach grumbled as she removed the jacket from the peg and buttoned it up, but she ignored it, there was no time for breakfast, she'd grab something later en route. She called out "I'm going to work now", as she went out of the great front doors but it was her own voice that answered, echoing back at her. It seemed that no-one else was home which would explain why nobody had bothered to rouse her when she had failed to wake up. It was unusual for everyone to be out though, Pete had probably offered to give Mickey and Jake a lift to the station - where they would journey to Waterloo and take the Euro Star to Belgium - but where was her mother? She was normally there to say goodbye and wave her off calling out, "Have a nice day", to which Rose usually replied, "I'll try." Rose shrugged, she didn't have time to waste wondering where Jackie had got to if she wanted to catch the next bus which would be arriving a few streets away very shortly. Her mum probably just had a hair appointment or something similar. Rose closed the doors behind her and hastened over to the wrought iron gates. Buzzing sounded as the gates clicked open letting Rose out into the street where she broke into a run as the gates clanged shut behind her.

The bus swung into view as Rose flew around the corner, and gasping for breath she forced herself onwards into a final sprint. The driver of the red double-decker had just stepped on the brakes as Rose skidded to a halt and mounted the step, her pulse racing madly. She walked down the crowded aisle and bought her ticket. Then wobbling unsteadily as the bus began to move off she found her way to the only pair of empty seats on the lower deck and slumped down exhausted. Despite all that tearing around all over the place with the Doctor, Rose still wasn't prepared for the strenuous exercise that was running to catch a bus.

Rose closed her eyes and relaxed into her seat. Firmly deciding that there was no point worrying about being late for work when it wasn't likely that there would be anything to do when she got there. Most days she spent her time twiddling her thumbs and doodling on scrap pieces of paper. Occasionally somebody would pop their head round the door and ask Rose to carry out some research on unidentified objects that had been discovered and were believed to be of alien origin but mostly she was left to her own devices, forgotten in her solitary office.

The bus jerked to a halt, throwing Rose forward in her seat. Irritated she tried to settle herself comfortably again just as an elderly lady with a blue rinse came trundling down the aisle with her tartan patterned shopping trolley. Her beady little eyes swept around the deck looking for somewhere to sit then she recognised Rose Tyler and hobbling over to the unoccupied seat eased herself down, parking her shopping trolley out of the way of the aisle. Rose's heart sank as out of the corner of her eye she realised who's company she had the pleasure of, it was dotty, old Mrs Birch - her neighbour who lived in a rundown cottage opposite the Tyler residence - whom she often had the misfortune of meeting on her way to work.

The elderly lady's hands went to the spectacles that hung around her neck on a chunky golden chain and pushed them on to her nose so that she could peer over them to look at Rose more clearly.

"Morning dear, it's Rose isn't it?" She squinted, her eyes adjusting.

"That's right", Rose replied patiently. Mrs Birch knew full well that that was her name.

Mrs Birch nodded, removed her spectacles and wiped the lenses with her cardigan before replacing them on the bridge of her nose.

"How are you dear?"

"I'm well thank you, how are you?" Rose was already tiring of the small talk but she managed with an effort to keep her tone polite and well mannered.

"Oh not to well I'm afraid dear. Poor old Eric is feeling under the weather again and it's such a worry for me", she gave a small sigh.

Rose knew that Eric was Mrs Birch's vicious black and white cat who often found his way into the Tylers back garden and started digging up the flower beds.

"You know he's not been his old self since he half drowned himself trying to catch a fish in your pond", Mrs Birch continued, tutting to herself.

Rose remembered the event well, Mickey had had to wade into the pond to rescue Eric and the stupid animal had got himself in a panic and had clawed and scratched at him leaving nasty gashes down Mickey's arms. Then Eric hissing and snarling like a cat possessed had made a crazed bid for freedom and had struggled out of Mickey's clutches, stalked off to the back gate and wriggled himself through a gap in the bars and back to his owner.

"I'm sorry to hear that Mrs Birch", Rose tried to sound as sincere as she could.

"That's nice of you to be concerned dear."

There was a momentary lull in the conversation.

"Who was that nice looking young man you were standing outside the fish and chip shop with yesterday?" Mrs Birch changed the subject so abruptly that it caught Rose completely off guard.

"No..nobody", she stammered.

Mrs Birch gave her a knowing look, her wrinkled face creasing into a smile.

"Is he your suitor?"

"My what? You mean my boyfriend?

The old lady nodded her head and leaned closer to Rose her eyebrows knitting together curiously. Nobody could accuse her of being an interfering old busy body she just took an interest in other people's lives that was all.

"No, no", Rose laughed nervously, "he's just a mate…a friend", she added hastily, noting the funny look that Mrs Birch was giving her."

Luckily for Rose, Mrs Birch and her shopping trolley got off at the next stop and the rest of the journey passed in peace without anymore need for awkward conversation.

Twenty minutes or so later, Rose stepped off the bus and checked her watch. Miraculously she had time to spare and since she had skipped breakfast she decided to grab a coffee and a quick bite to eat in a nearby coffee house.

Rose let herself in through the heavy door and entered a darkened room populated by people attired in smart suits drinking several different types of coffee and thumbing through their newspaper of choice.

At the counter Rose ordered a cappuccino and a toasted cheese sandwich and handed over a five pound note from which she got little change. She found a quiet corner away from the other customers and picked up the newspaper that had been left on the table there and idly flicked through it. There was nothing of particular interest and Rose soon got bored so she folded the paper and pushed it away from her.

A young girl with freckles and frizzy hair brought her coffee and sandwich. Rose thanked her and gratefully devoured the cheese sandwich and drained her coffee cup. Her appetite sated, Rose left the coffee house and continued on her way to Torchwood Towers.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Rose sat in her office, leant on one elbow and twiddling a strand of hair around her index finger, utterly fed-up. Two hours ago she had been asked to complete some paperwork which had only taken a minute or so of her time and since then she had been trying to keep herself amused.

A small pile of paper - each sheet depicting crude doodles of herself and the Doctor - had started to mount up in one corner. Frustrated she snapped the lid back on the marker pen she was using and threw it down. She swung round in her chair to look at the clock behind her and pursed her lips, it was about ten minutes past twelve, fifty minutes to go till she could take her lunch break.

Rose swivelled back round again and picked up some paperclips that lay on her desk and started fitting them together to make a chain. The telephone rang and Rose gratefully tossed aside the paperclips, cleared her throat with a small cough and lifted the receiver to her ear.

"Rose Tyler speaking."

"Hi Rose, it's Mickey, me and Jake have just arrived in Brussels."

"Mickey, thank God, I thought I'd go crazy."

"Still got nothing to do then?" Mickey laughed down the phone.

"It's not funny, the lack of anything to do is driving me mad. I just sit here day after day waiting, just waiting."

"There must be something for you to do…"

"Not on this Earth there isn't. The action is where the Doctor is, on the proper Earth."

"…you're probably right", Mickey admitted.

"This is just a fake world, it's nothing", Rose said bitterly.

A beeping noise sounded down the line.

"Hey Rose, listen I gotta go my money's running out."

"Put some more in."

"Can't, no more change…

They were cut off and Rose replaced the phone with a clatter. Her temper was rising and she had to get out of that stuffy office. It was alright for Mickey gallivanting off around the world, while she was stuck in some stupid desk job. She glanced at the clock again - the hands barely seemed to be moving, time appeared to be standing almost completely still - there was over twenty minutes remaining till her lunch break. Drumming her fingers on the desk impatiently, Rose came to a decision and shrugged on her jacket. She then left her office locking the door behind her.

She strode purposefully across the floor past the rows of bored employees sat staring at blank screens, to the lifts. Rose pressed the large green button and the lift whirred into life, the doors sliding open, admitting her inside. She pressed the button marked with a G, for the ground floor and the lift descended, dizzying her with its juddering movements.

Without warning the lift began to rocket downwards, gathering velocity. Rose groped out for something to hold onto, but there was nothing. She desperately pressed herself up against the wall putting all her effort into staying upright. Her heart was pounding, adrenaline was pulsing throughout her body. Then she was thrown forwards into the opposite wall, knocking the wind out of her as she hit it with force. She slid down the wall and crumpled painfully on the floor.

The lift continued to plummet as Rose crawled into a corner, whimpering with terror. What the hell was happening? Overhead the lights dimmed and went out altogether, blinding her with darkness. Rose had never felt so alone, there was no Doctor to save her now.

Thinking of the Doctor lent her little fragments of bravery.

Determinedly, Rose clambered to her feet shaking and spoke into the pitch black all around her.

"If this is how I'm gonna die", she yelled, "choking back her fear then I'm gonna face up to death with courage."

The lights blinked back on, a pale shade of hope in the gloom. The lift shook, filling Rose's ears with the sound of rattling metal. Then with a final jerking motion the lift stopped and the doors slid open. Rose tumbled out weeping with relief and fell to her knees on the marble flooring. Her shoulders convulsed violently as she knelt, cradling her head in her hands.

The noise of her sobs brought someone running from a nearby room. A young girl with raven black hair flew down the corridor towards the woman who was crouched over howling like a baby. Oblivious to everything around her, consumed by tears that spattered onto the floor.

"Miss…what's wrong?"

The raven-haired woman bent down beside Rose putting an arm around her tremulous shoulders. As Rose sat up to see whose arm was around her the girl read Rose's identity badge. Miss Rose Tyler: Researcher.

"You look like you could do with a nice cup of tea ."

The woman helped Rose to her feet, Rose tottered a little but didn't lose her balance. Leaning on the woman for support, Rose allowed herself to be helped along the corridor into a warmly lit room decorated with subtly toned wallpaper. There was a comfy sofa which Rose sank down onto snivelling but enormously appreciative of the stranger's kindness.

"I'll just put the kettle on", the woman bustled about busily in the kitchen filling the kettle with water from the sink tap and fetching two mugs from a cupboard.

"How many sugars do you take?"

Rose's throat felt swollen and sore but she managed to croak, "two…thanks."

The woman brought the two mugs over and put one down on the tabletop in front of Rose.

"Drink up you'll feel better", she said as she sat down in a squashy chair with her own mug.

Rose lifted the mug to her lips and blew to cool the infusion. Delicately she took a sip and winced as the hot liquid touched her tender throat. She placed the mug back on the tabletop and began kneading her head with her hands, trying to make sense of what had happened. The woman looked at Rose, concerned for her.

"What happened, why were you on the floor?"

"…the lift, Rose spluttered", still struggling to overcome her petrifying ordeal.

"Did you have a panic attack? Are you claustrophobic?"

The woman's eyes swept over Rose, trying to understand why she was in such a state. Rose shook her head, "It started going down…really fast. I couldn't stand…I was thrown to the floor. I thought that I would be killed", Rose broke down, blubbing into the sofa.

The woman's vivid green eyes widened with horror, she got up from her squashy chair and went to sit down next to Rose and put an arm around her shoulders again.

"Is there anyone that can come and pick you up?" She asked softly.

"M…my Dad, Pete…sh..should be home now. His number's in my mobile.

Rose's shaking hands went to her jacket pocket and retrieved her phone, she handed it to the woman.

" W.. .what's y…your name?" Rose faltered.

"It's Jen," Jen gave her a warm smile.

"Thank you…Jen?"

"It's a pleasure, besides I'd never turn down the chance to help the famous, Miss Rose Tyler", Jen grinned.

"H…how do you know…my…"

"I read your name tag when I was helping you up off the floor.

Rose looked down at her badge. "Oh, of course. My head really hurts. Do you mind if I lay down for a bit?"

"No that's fine, you have a rest I'll ring your Dad."

Rose kicked off her shoes and stretched herself out on the sofa. Exhausted, she fell asleep in minutes.

Jen scanned the phonebook on Rose's mobile and pressed the call button. It rang five times and then a man answered with, "Hello Pete Tyler speaking."

"Mr Tyler, hello my name's Jen Williams, I work at Torchwood Towers. Your daughter Rose has just been involved in a terrible ordeal. I think you should come and pick her up.

Pete was flustered, "Well how is she? Can I speak to her?"

"Rose is sleeping at the moment, but she's fine. I'll do my best to explain everything when you get here. I'll phone the front desk and have someone show you to my office when you arrive."

"Ok I'm on my way. I'll be there as quick as I can."

He hung up. Jen put down the phone, picked up her mug of tea and seated herself in her squashy chair once more.

Rose murmured in her sleep as behind her closed eyelids she saw the Doctor gazing at her with such fondness. His chocolate brown eyes glistening with pride.

"My brave Rose."

The sound of his gentle voice resonated inside her head.

"It won't be long now."


	8. Chapter 8

This chapter is by far the shortest one but this is really just the build up before the action starts.

CHAPTER 8

Pete parked his jeep and hurried round to the main entrance of Torchwood Towers. At the front desk he paused for breath before he addressed the young receptionist.

"Hello I'm Pete Tyler, I believe that you've been expecting me", he leaned on the raised desk.

"Mr Tyler, of course", she tapped a few buttons on her keyboard then wheeled her chair backwards. I'm Vivienne", she extended her right hand and Pete shook it, "allow me to show you to Miss William's office."

"Thank you", Pete stuffed his hands into his pockets and followed the blonde-haired girl across the foyer to a flight of stairs leading upwards.

"The lifts are out of order, for some reason they started malfunctioning" Vivienne turned to face him. "Unfortunately we'll have to take the stairs, it's a bit of a climb though I'm afraid", she gave Pete an awkward smile.

"That's alright I could do with some exercise, stop my wife nagging at me."

Meanwhile Rose began to stir on the sofa in Jen's office. Fluttering her eyelids open she saw through her hazy vision that she was looking at a ceiling quite different from the one in her bedroom at the Tyler residence. This ceiling had skylights set in it which allowed light to stream into the room.

"Where am I?" Rose thought aloud as she sat up, massaging her forehead to stop the pounding.

"You're inside Torchwood Towers", a calming, female voice answered hers.

"Jen…?" Rose recollected vaguely.

"That's right, this is my office, you fell asleep on my sofa."

Rose scowled trying to remember why she had been so tired. She forced herself to think, to ignore her agonising headache. A flashback came to her. The lift, something had gone really wrong with the lift and she had nearly died. Somehow she had got out though and that had been when Jen had found her collapsed on the floor.

"Thank you", Rose whispered tearfully.

"For what?" Jen smiled at Rose from her desk .

"For everything…you've been so kind to me.

"Think nothing of it", Jen replied, her cheeks blushing rouge.

There came a knock at the door and Jen swivelled round in her chair.

"Enter", she called.

Vivienne stepped into the room followed by Pete.

"Mr Tyler to see you Miss Williams", Vivienne introduced Pete and Jen came over to shake his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Tyler."

" Likewise."

Pete frowned as his eyes fell on Rose who was huddled up one end of the sofa, probing her head with her fingertips.

"Yes, I promised that I would explain everything. Please take a seat", Jen indicated the chair in front of her desk. "Vivienne you may leave us now."

Vivienne nodded and left the room pulling the door closed behind her.

Jen strode across the room with a glance at Rose and took up her chair once more. She leaned back into the cushioning black leather and flexed her fingers, considering what to say. Clearing her throat with a small cough, she began to talk but was interrupted by a sudden siren that started blaring from her computer as something flashed onto her monitor.

"What is it?" Pete shifted forward in his seat to see as Jen's eyes stayed transfixed on the screen.

"I'm not sure…somebody's trying to broadcast a message…from Belgium."

Rose's eyes widened as she steeled herself into a sitting position.

"That's where Mickey is", she exclaimed hoarsely, her throat still burning.

"Who is Mickey?" Jen inquired.

"He's my friend…", Rose said simply.

"It's tuning itself in", Jen looked back at the monitor.

Rose brought another chair over to Jen's desk and Pete moved his to get a better look at the screen as the unmistakable form of metal men appeared on the screen.

"Oh my god", Rose gasped."

"Cybermen…", Pete said through gritted teeth.

"They have two humans, look", Jen's voice quivered.

Rose narrowed her eyes and with a jolt of horror identified Mickey and Jake. They were flanked by two Cybermen each and looked to be unarmed.

"We are the Cybermen", they spoke in unison their chilling, robotic voice echoing around the room. "These humans are not compatible, they will be deleted."

"NO!", Rose screamed.

"That's horrific", Jen remarked quietly.

"That's the Cybermen", Pete answered solemnly.

"Hold on now, wait a minute. That's not very nice. What did they ever do to you?"

"It can't be…", the voice was so familiar to Rose's ears, but surely it wasn't…

"It is the Doctor", one of the Cybermen cried in it's terrible voice, "he will perish under maximum deletion."

The picture faded but they still heard the Doctor's retort.

"Give it up, it's over. I'm here now to put a stop to this. The Cybermen shall perish."

The sound cut out.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Rose wandered back over to the sofa and wearily flopped down. Her head was pulsating and her heart was racing. Many thoughts ran through her mind, the foremost of which was that she had to get to Belgium so that she could fight alongside the Doctor and help bring about the demise of the Cybermen again.

Pete adopted a frown and shoved his hands in his pockets. For a while he stared at the floor and then he began pacing about the room, clearly agitated.

"Those metal men…the Cybermen…that's what you called them isn't it?" Jen's voice broke the silence that hung over her office like an ominous, heavy black cloud.

"What about them?" Pete stopped pacing and met Jen's eyes.

"They mentioned the Doctor…surely they can't mean…"

"Yes they can", Rose exclaimed defiantly.

"The last of the time lords, the oncoming storm and I'm going to Belgium to be with him."

Pete stopped his pacing and saw the burning resolve in Rose's eyes.

"You can't, it's too dangerous."

"Mickey's there…and Jake", Rose argued, anger coursing through her blood.

"What about your mum though, for once in your life Rose have a little consideration for your mother. She's done so much for you, bringing you up all on her own and now you're going to repay her for all those years of love and nurturing by going off and quite possibly getting yourself killed.

"She'll understand", Rose protested, her fury subsiding as guilt flooded through her.

"No she won't because you're not going, end of discussion", Pete slammed his clenched fist down hard on to Jen's desktop with such force that she gasped.

"Sorry", Pete muttered.

"I'll leave the room for a bit, I need to get some photocopying done anyway.

Pete nodded as Jen shuffled through a stack of paper, found what she was looking for and left the room without another word, clicking the door shut as she departed away down the corridor. The sound of her clacking heels, gradually fading until they could no longer be heard.

"Are you clear on that?" Pete rounded on Rose again. You're not going anywhere near Belgium.

Rose flung herself off the sofa and leaped to her feet. She stood boldly glaring at Pete, her face white with fury.

"You can't stop me", Rose snarled, "what are you going to do, lock me up?"

"If it's necessary then yes. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe", Pete's voice softened as he tried to persuade her that he was acting in her best interests.

"I understand why you're doing this…and I care about mum, of course I do but…my time apart from the Doctor has made me realise more than ever that he's the most important part of my life and I would willingly sacrifice my life if it meant I could see him and be with him one last time. So you see dad…I have to go, whether you forbid me to or not."

Pete inhaled a deep breath, expression stern. His forehead creased as he weighed up his options in his mind. Should he relent and let Rose travel to Belgium to be with the Doctor? Or should he insist that she couldn't go and as a consequence face her wrath? This wasn't an appealing choice to him as Rose had the same fiery temper that Jackie did and he didn't relish the thought of a good ear-bashing from her. Although if he did give her his permission then he would most probably end up on the receiving end of a smart slap across the face and a vigorous tongue lashing, from Jackie. He also knew just how much the Doctor meant to Rose. In the weeks that had followed their final parting, on the beach in Norway, Rose had been distraught and would not be consoled by anything or anyone. Wrapped in grief she had barely ventured outside of her room for a whole month. Pete wrestled with his thoughts but eventually came to a decision.

He drew in another deep breath.

"If the Doctor really means that much to you then…", Pete closed his eyes, "…you can go."

Rose rushed forward and hugged him, squeezing him tightly.

"Woah steady", Pete laughed. "I can hardly breathe."

"Thanks dad", Rose looked up into his eyes.

"You owe me, your mum's not going to be to pleased that I let her daughter put herself in mortal danger."

"You're scared of her", Rose grinned happily

"Terrified", Pete agreed with a wink.

Rose squeezed him again and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Come on then", Pete gently removed Rose's arms from around his torso. "The jeep's waiting outside I'll take you back to the house so that you can pack a bag and change out of your uniform then I'll drive you to Waterloo station."

"What about mum though? What am I going to say to her?"

"She's not at home…"

"Why?" Rose was puzzled. Where is she?"

"Don't look so worried, she's booked herself into a health spa for a day of pampering in preparation for the party. A taxi picked her up early this morning."

"That would explain why she wasn't around to wave me off to work", Rose mused.

Pete nodded and smiled as Rose's look of bewilderment melted.

"Now…do you want that lift or not?"

Rose clambered up onto the front seat of the jeep next to Pete and buckled her seatbelt. Her stomach ached with nervousness and excitement as Pete turned the key in the ignition and the jeeps engine came to life with a splutter. Pete engaged the gear stick and soon they were backing out of the car park and moving off down the road.

To calm her nerves Rose inserted a tape into the jeeps stereo system and turned the dial. Old pop songs sounded from the speakers and Rose hummed along cheerfully letting the music wash over her and alleviate her anxiety.

A little over an hour later they pulled into the driveway of the Tyler residence and Rose jumped down from the jeep and made for the front doors. She fumbled in her jacket pocket for her house key, fitted it in the lock and turned it. As soon as she crossed the threshold into the hallway she hastened up the staircase to her bedroom. Taking down the bag from the top of her closet she began packing everything that she could cram into it, since she didn't know how long it would be before she came back.

Minutes later she locked the front doors and rejoined Pete in the jeep. Now dressed in more appropriate attire, jeans and a red t-shirt. Brimming with anticipation she fastened her seatbelt. In just over a few hours time she would be back where she belonged, by the Doctor's side.

Rose stood waiting as patiently as she could while Pete negotiated a ticket for her. She saw him hand over a wad of notes.

"I've managed to get you a seat, wasn't easy though", Pete walked over to Rose brandishing the ticket.

"Thanks", Rose took the ticket from him.

"You've got your passport haven't you?"

Rose slid the small book from her pocket and waved it in the air.

"The train doesn't leave for another twenty minutes. Do you want to grab a quick coffee?"

"Yeah, I need something to perk me up a bit", Rose smiled.

The Doctor was always full of energy and she wouldn't let him see her looking tired.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Rose sat as though staring out of the window of the first-class carriage as the train rattled along. She was facing away from the aisle, her eyes fixated on one spot. However she did not see beyond the pane of glass instead all she saw was that which was inside her head. Memories in the form of faded pictures - like old photographs in a dust covered album - flashed before her. Recalling the past awakening from their slumber what seemed like long-forgotten thoughts but were actually thoughts that lingered just below the surface. Around her people talked but she did not hear their voices, She heard only a single voice, soft and gentle and full of encouragement. The pictures merged and played like a reel of film as he took her hand with a heart-melting smile and showed her the whole of time and space.

She really had imagined that it would last forever, that they could never be split apart. That fateful day in Torchwood had cruelly proved her wrong though. A couple of months ago she had been left broken-hearted and facing an eternity without the Doctor but now the future looked distinctly brighter and more fulfilling.

The train clattered into the station and gradually slowed to a stop. Carriage doors were thrown open and the passengers disembarked in a steady stream, Rose amongst them. She stepped onto the platform her heart soaring but her stomach twisting with nerves. Clutching her bag firmly for support she took a deep breath and followed the throng of people leaving the station.

Once outside Rose stopped and surveyed her surroundings. Tourists were milling about consulting maps for direction whilst the natives casually went about their everyday lives. All around her were beautiful, large buildings and Rose felt so small, lost in a strange land. Rose had visited many strange, new lands before but without the Doctor by her side she was clueless, just another bewildered tourist in a big city.

A short while later - after tagging along behind other tourists - Rose found herself entering Grand Place, a beautiful cobble-stoned square with ornate baroque and gothic style houses. Looking around Rose saw that there were many terraced cafes dotted about and decided to stop for a quick coffee to replenish her energy. She felt quite drained again, with all the mountainous excitement that was building up inside of her.

Rose opted for the nearest café which had a red canopy and walked in through the open doorway. Inside there was a buzz of talking but Rose couldn't make out what was being said without the TARDIS translating for her. As she approached the counter it occurred to her that perhaps the elderly woman serving behind it wouldn't understand a word that Rose spoke. It came as a great relief when the woman spoke to Rose in accented English.

"Afternoon, what would you like?"

Rose wasn't sure how the woman had managed to discern that she was English, perhaps it was the way she looked so uncertain of her surroundings and clung onto her bag with whitened knuckles.

"Umm…",Rose began, "just a coffee please."

"White or black?"

"White please."

"Please go and take a seat and I'll bring it over in a minute."

Rose settled herself at a table for two and sunk her head into her hands. This was all so surreal, just hours ago she had been sat in her small office at Torchwood Towers with nothing to do. Now she was in another country tracking down the Doctor with not much lead to go on.

Her mobile jumped up and down in her pocket, ringing embarrassingly loud. Conscious of the din it was making she lifted it from her pocket looked at the display with a fleeting glance and answered it.

"Hi dad, what is it?"

"Rose, where are you?" His gruff voice contained much urgency.

"I'm in a café in Brussels waiting for a coffee", Rose frowned, something was up.

"You've got to get back here, you're in great danger, come home Rose, now."

"You told me how dangerous it was before I left, remember?"

"Rose", Pete continued as if he hadn't heard her, "for your mother's sake come home before it's too late."

"…Too late…what do you mean too late?"

Crackling interference cut out the rest of Pete's speech and Rose slowly moved the phone away from her ear, slid it shut and popped it back into her jeans pocket.

Something was really wrong, Rose knew what dangers lay ahead in confronting the Cybermen but a shiver ran down her spine as Pete's panic-stricken voice echoed inside her head. Moments later she heard the faint sound of distant screaming, but at first dismissed it as being in her imagination that was until the unmistakable sound of thundering, metallic footsteps could be heard and the screams turned into a cacophony of noise.. Rose whipped her head around to look out of the shop window as the other customers stampeded out of the café - she saw a most horrendous sight. At the opposite end of the square an army of Cybermen was advancing, people fleeing before them as the murderous creatures reached out and brought death to their victims.

Rose snatched up her bag and ran to the open doorway staring in horror as the helpless crowd of people fell over themselves desperately trying to scramble away from the evil metal mens' clutches. Rose saw through widened eyes that a few dozen lifeless bodies already littered the ground. It seemed that the Cybermens' ultimate goal this time wasn't to upgrade every citizen but rather to wreak destruction and chaos.

"What are they?" A feeble voice asked, barely audible.

Rose spun on her heel but saw no' one.

"Hello", she called, "is someone there?"

"Please, why are they doing this?"

Rose took a few steps towards the counter and saw the elderly woman, crouched over cowering on the floor. Rose undid the catch on the counter door and went to kneel beside her.

"Listen…what's your name?"

"Agnes", the woman sniffed into a handkerchief.

Rose nodded, "Agnes you've got to get out of here, those metal men they're called Cybermen and I've dealt with them before. If you stay here they'll find you and they'll kill you", Rose looked deadly serious.

The woman began to sob, her chest heaving.

"I am old, and my legs don't work so well. I can barely walk let alone run, what chance do I have?

Rose didn't know how to answer.

Agnes dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.

"My baby grandson you must help him, he is upstairs asleep in his cot. Please save the child."

A lump caught in Rose's throat as Agnes clutched at her hand. The baby monitor on the counter top started emitting sounds.

"I'll do all I can to keep him safe, I promise", Rose smiled weakly, blinking away tears.

There was nothing more she could do for Agnes.

"Where is your grandson?"

Rose struggled to keep her voice steady and banish the tears that threatened to fall.

"Through there, and take the stairs up, he'll be in the first room", Agnes indicated a door that Rose hadn't noticed before. She turned the doorknob and hurried into the back passage which led to the house. There wasn't much time, behind her she could hear the shattering of glass and she didn't dare look back.

Rose hurtled up the stairs and flung open the first door she came to. Inside was decorated like a children's nursery and lying in the cot his arms and legs flailing wildly was Agnes' grandson.

She bent down to the tiny child and gently lifted him and cradled him in her arms making soothing noises.

"Shh it's alright, I've got you baby. I'm going to save you from the nasty, horrible Cybermen."


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Rose pounded desperately across the cobblestones, clutching the small child close to her hoping that she wouldn't accidentally smother the poor thing. The blood-curdling screams and general roar of panic and confusion had faded and Rose was certain that she had put quite a distance between herself and the army of Cybermen but still she did not stop. Rose caught her breath painfully trying to ignore the aching in her throat. It did not matter that she could hardly breathe for running so fast all that mattered to her at the moment was that she found this baby a place of sanctuary the least she could do for the ill-fated Agnes.

Rose continued to run until she could run no more, finally exhausted. The weight of the child - although small - was still too heavy a burden for her to continue any further. By this point the sky had darkened considerably and it was starting to turn chilly.

Rose felt a wave of gratitude as she came across a pretty-fronted small hotel with warm comforting light shining through the curtains at every window. Rose knew that she would have to seek shelter there for the night. She couldn't possibly expose the baby to the cold night air and besides she was absolutely shattered and wouldn't have been able to keep moving anyway. Aside from this her feet were also stinging with the impact of being continuously smacked down upon the hard ground.

Rose pushed open the swing doors, approached the reception desk and rang the small bell for assistance. She waited patiently for a few moments and was about to call out when a uniformed man stepped out from behind a red velvet curtain and greeted her with a friendly smile.

"Good evening, young miss."

Then his twinkling eyes flitted to the baby and he leaned over the desk to get a closer look at the tiny infant snuggled in Rose's arms.

"And good evening to you too little one."

Straightening up, with a smile that curled his lips, he met Rose's eyes.

"You have a beautiful baby there young miss."

Rose felt the colour rising in her cheeks and flustered nodded.

"Thank you", she shifted the baby slightly.

"Ah yes…", the man snapped his fingers, "you will be requiring a room."

"That's right", Rose recovered quickly", I've been travelling for hours, I'm hoping to meet up with…an old friend but this poor little boy is tired and he needs somewhere comfortable to lay his head down for the night….you do have room don't you?"

"Well as a matter of fact we do have quite a few vacancies."

Rose was relieved.

"It's quite unusual for this time of year really", the man mused half to himself.

"We're usually all booked up with not even a broom cupboard to spare."

Rose frowned, puzzled by the man's last words.

"Uh not that we allocate anyone the broom cupboard", he added hastily, "just a small joke you understand."

Rose laughed uncertainly.

"Of course, a joke…funny yeah."

The man looked pleased and straightened his already perfect tie.

"So any chance of that room then?"

Rose stopped laughing abruptly, weary of jokes.

"Oh so sorry, my apologies young miss…"

"My name is Rose she interjected quickly", tired of formalities as well.

"Rose", he repeated to himself, "a beautiful name for a beautiful young lady."

"Yeah", Rose was becoming impatient and completely ignored the compliment.

The man stepped out from behind the counter and came to stand beside Rose. He extended a hand to her which she did not shake, partly because she feared she would drop the baby and also because the man was beginning to grate on her nerves.

The man snatched his hand back awkwardly and cleared his throat.

"Err since we are exchanging names, I am called…,"he paused for momentum", Lambert."

"Great…that's great", Rose commented sarcastically, "pleased to meet you and everything."

Lambert mistook Rose's sarcasm for genuine politeness and bowed.

"So about the room", Rose said pointedly.

"Yes, so sorry for inconveniencing you", he bowed again.

Rose looked away and rolled her eyes so he wouldn't see.

"Permit me to show you to your room…I'll just collect your luggage." He looked around him and with a wrinkled brow turned back to face Rose.

"Where is your luggage Miss?"

With a start Rose suddenly recalled her bag, the bag which she had left on the nursery floor of Agnes' house.

"I uh mislaid it somewhere, I only had the one bag…I must have left it back at the café."

Lambert's face creased with concern.

"What about your baby's things?"

"Things?"

Rose asked bewildered.

"Yes, you know nappies, bottles…formula…you have none of this with you correct?"

"No I don't", Rose felt a little stupid.

"Not to worry Miss, the hotel can provide everything your baby needs."

"Really!?

"Most assuredly, now if you'd like to follow me I'll take you to your room."

Rose allowed herself to be led up a carpeted staircase to a long landing lined with doors all bearing number plates. Lambert took her to a room at the far right end of the landing and took a key from his jacket pocket. He opened the door and courteously held it wide open for Rose to enter.

"It's a lovely room", Rose said as she gently laid the sleeping baby down upon the bed.

"Thank you Miss", Lambert smiled", "I'll have someone bring a cot up for your son."

Rose heard him shuffle off and heard the creak of the stairs as Lambert descended them. She went to the door and closed it then sat down beside the baby.

"You know…you need a name", Rose stroked his head. "Your granny never told me your name and I never asked so…I guess I'll have to name you since there is nobody else to.

Rose paused, looking thoughtful.

Then she got to her feet and started pacing about, hoping that she would be suddenly inspired, but the right name didn't come to her.

"Well you can't remain nameless", Rose reasoned, " but this is so hard, you're not even mine to name…I don't know who your parents are…I don't even know if they're alive…"

Rose let out a long sigh and sat down upon the soft bed linen again. She looked down at the baby's screwed up face, names still running through her head.

"…Nathan…I'll call you Nathan", Rose declared.

"What do you think Nathan? Do you like that name?"

Nathan gurgled in his sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Whilst Rose slept on - cocooned snuggly within her soft duvet – activity was commencing in a nearby, abandoned factory. A factory formerly belonging to Cybus Industries but still very much inhabited by an army of Cybermen who had up till now been left to their own devices.

When Mickey and Jake had embarked on their round-the-world trip to liberate every country of the Cybermens presence, they had met with strong resistance from the authorities. They had argued that it was wrong for the Cybermen to be destroyed when they too had once been human. A compromise was eventually reached and it was agreed that the Cybermen would instead be confined within the Cybus factories and allowed to live, or at least exist.

At the time Mickey and Jake knew that the authorities were making a colossal mistake in denying the destruction of the Cybermen, but they were just two men with little say in the matter. The decisions were left to those in charge and Mickey and Jake just carried out their bidding.

A few months down the line and their worst fears were being confirmed. The uprising of terror was beginning again. Hundreds of the steel men had broken free from captivity and were now roaming the streets of Belgium on a continuous mission to upgrade and improve the human race.

The question though was how had they managed to break free? Mickey and Jake had made certain that the Cybermen were securely contained within each factory. There was absolutely no way that they could have escaped without assistance. Who or what was responsible for releasing the horror? What possible reason could there be behind an act of such malicious intent?

Upon arriving in Brussels earlier that same day, Mickey and Jake were completely unprepared for the situation that they had soon found themselves in. The reported sightings they had heard about led them to the very factory where the trouble was starting again. Laughing and joking, completely unconvinced that there was any truth to these rumours they arrived at the designated spot and were shaken to the core by what they found there.

In their state of shock they had been no match for the handful of Cybermen standing guard. By some stroke of luck their lives were both spared and they found themselves being marched in through the front doors of the factory and taken straight to their leader. Surrounded they were forced to believe that all hope of survival was lost. Reluctantly, Mickey and Jake accepted their fate.

It came as some relief to them both then, when who should show up on the scene but none other than the Doctor. Not a parallel Doctor, The Doctor. Grinning from ear to ear as he greeted them in his usual highly energised manner. His amiable behaviour evaporated as he turned his attention on the Cybermen and in that instant Mickey and Jake could both understand why so many creatures feared this one man.

Fast forward to the present hour and we join the battle. Three against hundreds, odds that seem impossible but for one reason, the Doctor is amongst the three. Though he is by no means immortal he is not frightened by death and he doesn't think twice about putting himself in immediate danger to save his friends.

He had half hoped that Rose would be there, but he realised that he much preferred her being safe at home and out of harms way. Of course it would also have been very nice to have her there, the old team reunited to take down evil. Still there would be plenty of time afterwards to spend time with her, providing he got out of this current predicament in one piece.

The three of them were in possession of some highly powerful guns, advanced technology of alien origin. These offensive weapons had the ability to blast apart a Cyberman with a single, well-aimed shot. Fortunately each of them was fairly well practiced at wielding guns.

From behind a stack of empty wooden crates Mickey daringly fired a shot and watched as a Cyberman fell forward defeated. Jake, encouraged by his friend's success also fired a shot but his aim was not so true and he missed by inches. The Doctor however was darting about wildly equipped with two guns and firing randomly in the direction of the Cybermen. Most of his shots hit their target and more Cybermen clattered noisily to the floor. This was however only a temporary solution to the problem. When the guns ran out of ammunition the three men would be left defenseless and at the mercy of the Cybermen.

Realising they had little time before the inevitable happened, the Doctor took out the Cybermen nearest to the exit and summoned Mickey and Jake to follow him. They fled down a long corridor, hoping they wouldn't run headlong into another force of Cybermen.

They reached a stairwell and pounded down the stairs and into another long corridor. A door close at hand stood ajar and risking a peek inside they were astonished to discover shelves of unguarded weaponry and ammunition.

"Stay frosty, this could be a trap", the Doctor ordered his comrades.

"Yeah", Mickey agreed, "who knows where those Cyber scum are lurking."

Cautiously they pushed the door so that it opened further allowing room for them all to enter. Furtively the Doctor looked about the room for signs of ambush but after a while he concluded that they were alone. Wasting no more time he began collecting ammunition and started reloading his guns then he set about retrieving more guns and loaded them with ammunition. He commanded Mickey and Jake to do the same.

"They don't stand a chance now do they Doctor?" Jake observed.

"Any chance they had was forfeited when I showed up."

"Ego", Mickey laughed, "but yeah you're right.

"Shhh d'ya hear that?" Jake interrupted. "Footsteps getting closer."

They stopped to listen and sure enough they heard footsteps. Then with a grim expression the Doctor turned to the other two. "Get ready, because round two is about to begin."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

They rushed into immediate action taking up hiding places behind shelves. Then all they could do was play the waiting game as the approaching footsteps sounded closer and closer until each of them was aware that they had unwelcome company and they shifted their guns uneasily, preparing for another onslaught.

The Cybermen filed in through the door and halting, looked about for traces of their prey. The Doctor caught Mickey's eye and in a barely audible whisper told him to nudge Jake so that he would have his attention too. Then just as quietly he gave the command to fire.

Quick as a flash the three men leapt to their feet and confronted their enemy in an ambush. The astonished Cybermen made to move towards them but were stopped in their tracks as they were gunned down and fell as scrap metal to the floor.

The combined noise of heavy gunfire and the screaming voices of the Cybermen was dreadful on the ears but they had to keep on going, wipe out every last abomination. The Cybermen still continued to filter into the room, replacing their fallen comrades but they too met with their end as Mickey, Jake and the Doctor spurred on by the knowledge that they had almost a supply of unlimited ammo at their disposal gunned them down also. The satisfying clatter of more metal on hard flooring raised their morale still higher.

"Why don't they surrender?" Mickey yelled to make himself heard.

"It's not in their nature to. In their eyes humans are an inferior race and they will never surrender to you lot. That's why we have no choice, the only way is to kill them." The Doctor answered, his voice booming loudly above the clamour of chaos and warfare. "Just keep your fingers on those triggers and if you need to reload make it speedy."

They each screwed up their faces, determined and empowered and intensified their assault on the perplexed Cybermen that just helplessly looked at each other, none of them sure what to make of the situation. They fell one after another, no match for the strong, unrelenting attack that had been launched on them.

Meanwhile Rose had risen with the sun only a short while ago and was sleepily rubbing her eyes so that could survey her surroundings with more clarity. As she lay propped against the pillows she looked about the hotel room, the events of the previous day gradually popping back into her head until she could remember exactly why it was that she had found herself waking in a strange bed with equally unfamiliar surroundings. The memories she had of yesterday also provided her with the answer as to why there was a baby's cot at the foot of the bed.

She pushed back the heavy bed covers and went to stand over Nathan. He was still asleep, one tiny hand curled into a fist that he had stuck in his mouth. A little concerned, Rose gently moved his hand away from his face and Nathan snuffled contentedly, movement stirring beneath his delicate eyelids.

Rose smiling with warmth for the youngster, brushed a tender hand over his head, smoothing the little tuft of blonde hair. She dropped a kiss on his head and then tucked the soft blanked around him. Then she straightened up with a feeling of sudden sadness, knowing that before the day was out she would have to say goodbye to her little bundle of joy. Where Rose was going was no place for an innocen baby, it was time to find a new home for Nathan.

She allowed a single tear to escape and fall silently down her cheek. Rose admitted to herself that in the short amount of time that she had known Nathan he had utterly endeared himself to her and she knew just how tough it was going to be to say goodbye to him.

Before that though, Rose had to find somewhere he would be looked after and receive all the love and kindness that he deserved. She knew nothing of Nathan's parents whether they were dead or alive and tracking them down could take weeks, months years even. Her thoughts were brought back to smiling twinkle-eyed Lambert and she wondered whether he might be able to make a suggestion or even be persuaded to take charge of Nathan for a short time before Rose returned for him.

Rose wasn't particularly fond of Lambert but he was the only person she knew to turn to for help. Yesterday he had been eager to please and Rose was sure that she had made quite an impression on him, though why she knew not. Nevertheless Rose was counting on him being only too willing to help a distressed mother, frantic with worry for her child.

There was no need for her to divulge her exact reasons for coming to Belgium to Lambert, she was confident that he would swallow any old rubbish that she told him, he seemed a very trusting sort of person. Now all she needed to do was form her story. It had to be fairly good though as she needed to have a reasonable enough excuse for needing to offload her child on a relative stranger.

Back inside the factory, the Doctor, Mickey and Jake were fighting what could only be described as a winning battle. So far the Cybermen had done nothing in the way to defend themselves or even counter-attack. One by one they met with their fate as guns were thrown aside and fully loaded ones were taken up in favour.

The Doctor was unnervingly aware that the Cybermen were making this a hell of a lot easier than he had anticipated and knew that he couldn't let his guard down for a single second. Perhaps that's what the Cybermen were counting on, a moment of weakness where they could somehow turn the situation to their advantage. In all honesty though it looked as if the Cybermen could simply not be bothered and were by now well and truly beaten. How many more of the Cybermen still roamed free? Judging by the number that they had already disposed of it couldn't be very many more.

After close on two hours had passed the steady filtration of Cybermen ceased and the three men were left alone once more, completely bewildered by their overwhelming triumph.

"It's not just me is it but that seemed far too easy. I mean it was tough but..." Jake voiced his thoughts to nods from both the Doctor and Mickey.

"What if this place is just a diversion...you know from the main event." Mickey spoke.

"Yeah I thought of that", the Doctor concurred, "there is definitely something wrong here, something so far from right and I have a really nasty hunch that this isn't where I should be. All of this, that battle...Mickey you're right it's a distraction maybe even a trap."

"So maybe we were lured to this place as part of some bigger plot." Mickey felt paranoid as he kicked at piles of deceased Cyberman parts that lay littered about his feet.

"Right", the Doctor sprung into action once more. "Let's get back to the Tardis and try and work out the lay of the land. With a bit of luck she might have picked up on something that I overlooked. We should probably hold onto these guns a bit longer as a precaution. We don't know what's going on out there."

They moved out into the empty corridor, alert for anything that might cross their path. Slowly, cautiously they made their way down many gloomily lit, long corridors and stairwells till they found themselves at the front entrance. The doors were thrown wide open onto the street. The relief of the sun's warmth and light greeted them as they left behind the darkened corridors of the factory and finally met with daylight once more.

The Doctor led his two friends to the spot where he had left the Tardis and they went inside. The Doctor moved instantly to stand at the control panels around the central column whilst Mickey and Jake excused themselves and went to change out of their sweat-drenched clothes.

The Doctor studied the panels intently for any sign of abnormal activity in the surrounding area. The Tardis came up with nothing, leaving the Doctor totally stumped. Then he considered the possibility that there was no bigger plot after all. He dismissed the thought quickly, he wasn't prepared to take chances.

The fact that it had even been possible for the Tardis to find it's way here was something of a miracle and still puzzled him. Now that the breach had been closed it shouldn't be possible for travel between parallel Universes, he knew that better than anyone and yet here he was being proved wrong. Here he was on the same Earth as Rose even after telling her that she could never see him again. It hadn't been a lie either he was positive enough day on the beach. The day of their supposed final goodbye and last chance to say what they wanted to say, he of course hadn't.

None of this made sense now, not even to him and that was scary. Before the Tardis had brought him here he had been on course to visit the planet Barcelona - he had fancied a trip there ever since telling Rose of it before regenerating in front of her eyes - then the next minute everything had gone haywire similar to when the Tardis had fallen through a hole in the Universe, in to the void and first ended up on this parallel Earth.

Shortly after landing and inspecting for damage and making repairs, he had discovered that Mickey and Jake were nearby and according to the Tardis heading for certain death within an abandoned Cyber conversion factory. Grabbing his coat he left the Tardis and went in search of his friends which had led him to stand in front of an audience of Cybermen making threats and demands in his usual manner.

The Doctor sank into the chair by the control panels, the seat that Rose had so often occupied before. He smiled to himself thinking of her laughing face, her energy the way she reacted everytime she discovered something new and her stroppy tantrums when she was mad or jealous. He loved everything about her and wouldn't want to change a single thing.

He clambered to his feet again and went to the Tardis doors and opening them stepped outside. He stood staring at the Tardis his back turned to the young girl who was sneaking up behind him. She was shaking with excitement as she placed her hands in front of his eyes and whispered gently in his ear, "Guess who?"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Guess who", the whispering voice asked again.

The Tardis doors suddenly opened and Mickey popped his head out, obviously searching for the whereabouts of the Doctor. When Mickey had come back from changing into a fresh set of clothes he had noticed that the Tardis doors were open a crack and guessed that the Doctor must have stepped outside. So leaving Jake to wander with open-mouthed fascination around the many rooms of the Tardis he decided to investigate.

Mickey shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight and peering through his fingers made out the Doctor. He was more than surprised however to see that the Doctor wasn't alone and that he was standing with a young girl, a girl who looked very familiar to Mickey even though she and the Doctor were standing quite a distance away.

"Rose!" He called loudly. "Is that you?"

"Yeah nice one Mickey", Rose yelled back. "You spoiled the surprise."

"What surprise?"

"Never mind, it doesn't matter now." Rose shot him a glare.

Mickey was hurt, now that the Doctor was back on the scene he knew that he had truly lost Rose. Every hope of a reconciliation that he had clung on to was dashed aside by the harsh reality that was in front of him. Rose plainly only had eyes for the Doctor, he could tell from the way she was touching his face in a playful, flirtatious manner.

The burning in his eyes was a warning sign that he was close to tears but he angrily forced them back. Dignity was all he had left and he wasn't about to sacrifice that for a few moments sobbing over a girl even if she was the love of his life, even if she had cruelly dumped him for another man and just abandoned him without a second thought for how he felt.

"Rose…what are you doing here?" The Doctor removed her hands from his face and spun around to confront her in one quick movement.

"Nice to see you too", she laughed lightly. She felt somewhat annoyed with Mickey and with the Doctor for his less than satisfactory greeting. It had been months since they last saw each other and now he was treating her as though she were some naughty teenager caught sneaking out on a school night. She cowered a little under his stern expression, wondering whether she had been wrong to go looking for him after all. Perhaps he had moved on and didn't need her anymore she thought with a sinking feeling.

"…I thought that you'd be pleased to see me", Rose stammered.

The Doctor's expression softened and a big grin widened his mouth. The kindness returned to his eyes and he became the Doctor she loved again. Rose grinned too as she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, feeling his two hearts beating as wildly as her one heart was.

"…Yeah if anyone wants me I'll be inside", Mickey shifted uncomfortably. If watching her caressing another man's face was almost too much to bear, then watching Rose being held so closely in the arms of another man was heartbreaking for him to look upon. He had accepted Rose and the Doctor's relationship long ago and now it looked as though he would have to again. The one thing that Mickey wanted more than anything was for Rose to be happy, that meant the world to him, but didn't he deserve some happiness too? He was selflessly letting go of everything he and Rose had ever had and demanding nothing in return so surely he was due some kind of good fortune.

Stupidly though, up until this point he had thought things would eventually return to normal and he and Rose would get back together and they would settle down and get married and have a family someday. He could see now that, that was all just some stupid fantasy. Mickey shook his head sadly and disappeared back into the Tardis. There he was met by Jake who noticed how forlorn his friend was and offered him a sympathetic ear and patiently listened to Mickey's troubles.

Rose wrapped her arms loosely around the Doctor's neck and rested her head on his shoulder as he gently brushed her cheek with his lips. She felt a warmth of pleasure rush over her and a sensation of happiness that she hadn't felt for what seemed like an eternity. At the same time the Doctor felt feelings stirring within him that had long since lain dormant, but now Rose had awoken them and a new kind of fear with them.

All of a sudden he felt scared and pushed Rose away from him. She stumbled backwards, shocked by this sudden rough treatment. The Doctor turned away from her and offered no apology but stood with his back to her. No explanation, nothing. He was warm and loving one moment and the next cold and distant, shutting Rose out.

"You can't just keep doing this. Every time we get close you freak out, it was like this before and being apart hasn't changed anything has it. All that rubbish about absence making the heart grow fonder, it's just nonsense isn't it? I thought just then that maybe you finally felt the same way as I do, but I must have got it wrong if you're just shoving me away like this.

The Doctor stayed silent but raised his head to look up at the sky. He listened to Rose's words, feeling the sting of them and wishing he could be everything that she wanted him to be. Wishing he could be reckless and indulge himself in dreams and fantasies but he couldn't allow himself to do that. He had to protect Rose from getting hurt, he had to stop her falling in love with him even though it was probably too late for that. It was painfully clear to him that Rose was absolutely besotted with him and for this he was partly to blame but he had also learnt something of the mysterious workings of the human heart from past experiences and knew he wasn't entirely at fault.

"Look if you just tell me what's wrong then I'll understand but right now I feel worthless, like I'm nothing to you but a toy that you pick up and play with and then drop when I become an inconvenience to you."

"You've got it all wrong", the Doctor didn't turn around but at least he was speaking. "Rose…the reason…the reason why I pushed you away is because…"

Rose didn't hear his reason because at that moment Mickey and Jake burst out of the Tardis and skidded to a stop next to them. They were clearly panicked about something and breathlessly tried to explain the situation.

"Doctor, you've got to come quick. Something's flared up on the screen." Jake spluttered.

"Yeah Jake and I were just chatting when we noticed all these red dots appearing on one of the screens. We couldn't understand what it meant." Mickey continued. "We figured it was something bad though." Urgency rose in his voice.

"Right", the Doctor sprinted back to the Tardis and rushed to pore over the Tardis console taking in the information that lay before his eyes. Rose had followed behind at a slower pace with Mickey and Jake and now they all came to stand at the Doctor's side.

"This is worse than I thought, much worse. "Someone has been busy freeing Cybermen. The factories have all been opened."

"What all of them?" Mickey asked quickly.

"Nope not all, just the ones in Europe though I daresay if we leave it too long before acting then the factories all over the world will be reopened and then there will be almost nothing we can do. If we can stop the problem before it spreads further abroad however then we're put at an advantage, otherwise…" The Doctor made a motion of slicing his hand across his throat.

"So how do we solve the problem?" Rose asked the question that was on everyone's lips. She felt a surge of excitement despite the severity of the task that they were now faced with. The old team was back together again, back to battle it out with whatever was thrown at them. Stronger united than they were divided.

"We're going to need Torchwood", the Doctor announced with certainty. "This is too big for us to deal with on our own but with Torchwood behind us we stand every chance of victory. With their combined forces they should be more than a match for any number of Cybermen."

"Are you sure?" Rose wasn't convinced.

"Fairly sure, of course there is always room for error. I'm confident that they'll be able to give us what we need though, don't worry."

"Well that's good enough for me", Rose said decisively to nods from Mickey and Jake.

"That's settled then", the Doctor flipped some levers and set a course for the Tardis. "Destination…Torchwood, Canary Wharf, London."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Jen Williams stood by the window of her Torchwood office, looking out onto the world that passed her by. The white, fluffy clouds in an azure, blue sky drifted slowly past as the little scurried about like ants, so far below her office. They might have been talking but their voices were lost before they fell on Jen's ears, caught up by the gentle breeze and blown away like whispers never to be heard again.

Nobody knew that Jen worked for Torchwood, she hadn't even told her family or close friends. They had a vague idea of where she worked but were under the impression that her occupation was little more than an office clerk and they never felt the need to ask her any more.

Besides her parents were far too busy to sit down and ask trivial questions. There was a dinner party to attend or a board meeting, or a flight they had to catch or even one or all of her younger sibling's school open evenings that they had to go to.

They never had, had much time for their youngest daughter though, perhaps this was because she had never exceeded expectations in the way that her older brother and two older sisters had before her. Whatever the reason, Jen had never felt like she really belonged in the family and entertained herself with the idea that she had been adopted. Of course there was no truth to this wistful daydream but she liked to make up excuses for her parents negligence of her all the same.

All of her older siblings were over-achievers but Jen had always been distinctly average and so had always been something of a disappointment to her parents. Jen was plain to them, nothing special but of course – as they would often say – "they still loved her dearly."

This became increasingly hard to believe over the years however as Jen stood by and watched as praise was heaped on James, the eldest of the Williams' children and her beautiful, confident and remarkably intellectual older sisters, Emily and Julie. Praise for Jen though was always in short supply.

Even Timothy and Joseph, the fourteen-year-old twins, received more of her parents time, love and affection than she ever had and they were spoilt little brats who had everything but were never happy. Then of course there was Danny, the baby of the family who was adored by all and couldn't put a foot wrong.

In time, Jen had learned to accept that she could never be the golden child and stopped vying with her siblings for the hotly contested title of favourite. She realised that there was probably nothing that she could ever do to change her parent's opinion of her. She also realised at around the same time, that there was more to life than being the best at something, something which in the end would count for nothing.

Now though, Jen had a far from ordinary job with a far from ordinary organisation and so it obviously pained her that she could never tell her parents of the important role that she played. All information concerning Torchwood was strictly classified and therefore should never be disclosed to members of the general public. This included family and friends.

Jen brushed away a tear droplet as she felt it trickling slowly down her cheek. As she swept her hand across her face she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Her attention was instantly drawn away from her feeling of being so under-valued by her family and she watched curiously as a blue object became gradually visible in the parking lot.

"Here we are then, Canary Wharf, London." The Doctor announced as he strode out of the Tardis followed by Rose, Mickey and Jake.

Rose ran to his side and grabbed his hand as Mickey looked away determined not to let it bother him, but Jake glanced momentarily in his direction and saw the look of sadness in his friend's eyes before Mickey had a chance to turn his head away.

Rose meanwhile was happily chattering away to the Doctor about their past adventures and laughing delightedly at the majority of things he said – whether genuinely or just for show – as they walked to the main entrance of Torchwood.

Once inside they were almost immediately met by Jen. She had hastened downstairs to find out what the blue object was – curiosity being one of her weaker traits – and now she narrowly missed slamming into Mickey – who instinctively dodged out the way – and instead she collided into the vacated reception desk. Vivienne was on her break.

Jen stopped, breathless, the wind knocked out of her. Mickey approached her to ask if she was alright and as she looked up into his eyes with her vivid green ones and assured him that she was fine, Mickey felt his stomach do a somersault. Not since Rose had he experienced such a sensation. There was something about this girl that he really liked, an instant connection that he couldn't explain.

"Hi…I'm Mickey by the way", he stuttered nervously.

"Jen", she returned warmly, with a pleasant smile.

"Hello again, Jen", Rose cut in, stopping dead any further chance of conversation.

"Rose…oh I'm so glad you're safe, after seeing those…Cybermen I really feared for your life." Jen looked a little shocked to see Rose. "Who are your other friends?" Jen asked out of politeness even though she felt sure she already knew.

"Yes, introductions. I'm the Doctor", he strode forward and proffered his hand, which she shook, "and this is Jake and you've already met Mickey and Rose", he grinned.

"Well it's lovely to meet you all. Although I must say that I usually conduct myself in a much more dignified manner. I'm so sorry that you had to see me all dishevelled like this." She flushed with embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it, after a year spent in the company of Rose believe me I've seen much worse behaviour."

"Oi", Rose elbowed him in the ribs.

"Oww, what did you do that for? I was only joking."

"Yeah well I didn't see the funny side of it, probably because it was missing a punch line."

"So you decided to add one in yourself?"

"I didn't punch you, I just gave you a gentle elbowing you big baby."

"Well it still hurt…note to self don't make Rose angry again."

"Yeah you better remember that." Rose smiled and threw her arms around the Doctor. All was forgiven. Then she felt herself being pushed away again and couldn't help feeling hurt but now that they had company she couldn't very well bring up the subject again. This didn't let him off the hook however, he still owed her an explanation and she was determined to get one at some point.

"Right, Jen was it?" The Doctor asked.

Jen nodded her raven, black head, "that's right."

"Tell me who's in charge around here these days."

"I'm afraid I can't tell you."

"Don't tell me you've been sworn to secrecy…I applaud your loyalty. I need to know though, who's in charge? Don't worry you can trust me I won't tell anyone, promise."

"I'm so sorry I obviously didn't make myself clear enough", Jen was apologetic. "What I meant was that I'm afraid I can't tell you simply because I don't know. Nobody below the top floor could tell you because we've never been introduced."

"It's true", Rose agreed, "I couldn't tell you either, all I know is it's all under new management since my Dad left."

"The only people who would know", Jen continued, "are the executives, they work up on the top floor and they rarely come down. They're odd sort of people really, monotonous voices and they walk really stiffly too, I noticed. They give me the creeps, I was stuck in the lift with one of them once when the lift started malfunctioning. You know…it's almost as if they're inhuman, the executives, with their cold, steely eyes and their expressionless faces but that's ridiculous isn't it? How could they not be human?" Jen laughed, but quickly stopped when nobody else did.

"Tell me", the Doctor spoke with mounting urgency in his voice, "do they wear sort of ear pods possibly with flashing blue lights?" The Doctor sincerely hoped that his worst suspicions wouldn't be confirmed.

"Ear pods?" Jen pondered for a while. "Yes I do believe I have seen them wearing ear pods. Why? Is there some kind of significance to this?"

"Unfortunately yes, it sounds very much to me like these executives are being manipulated, controlled and most likely by Cybermen." The Doctor clapped his hands together with a sound that startled them all. "Right, ok, here's the situation. Torchwood is almost certainly being run by Cybermen and that presents us with a mammoth-sized problem since I was relying on Torchwood to help us out of our predicament. Looks like plan A has well and truly failed though since the ally I thought we had appears to be under occupation by the very same enemy that we want to eliminate. Most unfortunate for us. So the big question is…anyone got a plan B?"

"Doctor, we still have the guns back in the Tardis, I bet that they'd come in useful." Jake pointed out. "You know if say we were to start a confrontation."

"Brilliant idea Jake! Take Mickey and go fetch them, then meet us back here lickety split. I think it's time that we gate crashed the party upstairs."

"Yeah", Rose was all for the idea."

The Doctor grinned but there was no humour in his eyes, instead there was grim determination. Rose slipped her arm through his but he seemed not to have noticed. There was too much on his mind, entirely too much at stake now and he wasn't going to lose Rose again.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

A short while later Mickey and Jake returned with the impressive examples of alien-developed weaponry slung across their shoulders. The guns were fairly heavy but the two men carried them with relative ease, though maneuverability was a little awkward to say the least as they struggled in through the revolving glass doors to the reception area.

There were five guns in total but only one of them was still fully-loaded, the other four were down to half or less than half of their capacity and neither of the three men had thought to stock up on more ammunition before they had left the factory back in Belgium. They had just grabbed whatever weapons had lain close at hand and had made their escape.

Jake walked straight over to the Doctor and presented him with two out of the three guns he had. He acknowledged that the Doctor's life was more valuable than anybody's and so it was only right that he should be the one to wield two guns. Jake held onto the third gun himself and busied himself inspecting it in an effort to steady his pre-battle nerves.

Mickey meanwhile went to Rose and generously handed her the only fully-loaded gun and kept the other for himself. Mickey had taken into consideration that Rose's experience at using firearms was limited and that her skills weren't very well honed. Therefore the more ammunition she had at her disposal the better her chances were at defending herself should she need to. Mickey knew that he would lay his life down for Rose if necessary but if anything should happen to him or the other two he wanted to be sure that Rose wasn't left completely vulnerable to attack.

Rose handled her weapon cautiously, tentatively moving her fingers over the shining metallic. She had never been in possession of such powerful firearms before and so she was understandably a little nervous as well as excited to be wielding something so impressive. She loved the feeling of invincibility that just holding this beautiful piece of deadly craftsmanship bestowed on her.

Mickey just had time to give Rose a quick tutorial on how to use her gun and then it was time to get moving as the Doctor summoned them all to follow him in an authoritative manner. The group of four advanced over to the lifts and the Doctor pressed the button to call for one. It arrived at the ground floor a short moment later and they went inside. Just as the doors were about to slide shut though Jen cried out, "wait" and the Doctor jammed his foot in the way to stop the doors in the process of closing and popped his head out.

"What now? We can't afford to be wasting time." The Doctor was getting impatient. He was close to the root of the problem now and he could do without holdups at such a crucial moment.

"I want to come with you." Jen declared resolutely and made to squeeze through the sliver of a gap in the doors. The Doctor however blocked her way, pushing his whole body in between the doors and refusing her entry.

"Let me pass", she tried to squirm her way past the Doctor but he remained steadfast. "I want to come with you." Jen reiterated with some annoyance.

"You can't it's too dangerous", The Doctor stated firmly. "I'm not going to risk lives unnecessarily. Go back to your life Jen, go back to your job and your family and leave this to us."

"What about Rose and Jake and Mickey? Don't they have lives too, something to go back to." Jen tried to form the basis of an argument hoping that the Doctor would be forced to relent.

"They're different I trust them to be able to take care of themselves. I only take the best."

"I don't expect you to understand but I just want a chance that's all." Jen appealed to him.

If time wasn't so precious he would almost certainly have succeeded at dissuading her from making such a foolish decision the fact was though that for once time definitely wasn't on his side. Usually he could issue command over most people but Jen was a tough cookie and wasn't about to crumble anytime soon or soon enough for his liking anyway. The Doctor decided to have one last ditch attempt at making her see sense before giving into the inevitable.

"Jen this isn't a game, this is a real situation with real lives on the line and there's no guarantee any of us will make it back. I don't want you sacrificing what you have for the sake of trying to be a hero."

"It's more than that." Jen struggled to find the words she needed to say, "I don't want just to be a hero. I want to live, take risks and be adventurous…I want excitement and I want to feel appreciated. I want to exceed expectation for once, I want to…"

"Jen", the Doctor held his hand up to interrupt her mid-speech. The argument was going back and forth without actually resolving anything and enough was enough. "I hate to stop your little speech but we really don't have time for this. You can come with us or change your mind and stay here it's your choice but make it snappy you have five seconds." He began ticking away the seconds with his fingers until his hand was curled into a fist. "Time's up, so what's it to be?"

"I'm coming with you." Jen wasn't going to be deterred. She was undeniably scared, terrified in fact but the adrenaline rush of excitement she felt was driving her on. Finally here was the opportunity to break out of her shell and discover what sort of a person she really was. Perhaps beneath her posh little rich girl exterior there was a feisty, tough woman just fighting to get out and make herself known. Here was her chance and she was going to seize it with both hands and hold on to it with everything she had.

"That's your final answer? Well, you'll need this then." The Doctor shoved one of his guns into her arms and she immediately felt empowered. The adrenaline rush intensified as she hastened to join the others in the lift as finally the Doctor allowed her to pass

Then the Doctor jabbed at the button for the top floor and the lift at long last began its ascent. Rose felt the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach getting worse by the second and looked to the Doctor for support but he didn't look back at her and instead stared straight ahead his eyes fixated on a single spot. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mickey put a comforting arm around Jen's trembling shoulders and couldn't help feeling dejected. Who was she supposed to turn to now since the one person she thought she could rely on was spurning all of her attention?

Rose then felt someone place a reassuring hand on her left arm and with a fast beating heart realised it was the Doctor's hand. She looked at him curiously and he smiled and led her closer to him. Rose's stomach was doing somersaults and practically felt as though it were tying itself in knots as he hugged her tightly and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. She lifted her head to kiss his cheek but he moved his head in that instant and instead her lips found his and she closed her eyes, melting in the moment. The Doctor felt powerless to resist suddenly weakened.

"Woah steady on", Jake coughed loudly and the moment was gone.

Rose reluctantly blinked open her eyes as the Doctor ended the kiss and their lips parted. It had been everything that she had imagined it would be, if only it had lasted a little longer. "Wow", she sighed dreamily.

"Sorry Rose, I'm not sure how that happened", he seemed flustered.

"What?" Rose whispered in dismay; surely he didn't regret that it had happened.

"I shouldn't have…I'm sorry." The Doctor scratched the back of his head.

"What?" Rose repeated in a hoarser whisper.

"Just five more floors to go. Get ready everyone, we don't know what's waiting for us out there" The Doctor deliberately ignored Rose not out of spite but because he was feeling excruciatingly uncomfortable.

Rose turned away from him in disgust and angrily wiped away hot tears. She couldn't take much more of this she couldn't believe that he was capable of such cruelty. Was he just toying with her heart? Is that what he had been doing all along? She didn't know, but she wanted to know and suddenly she didn't care if the timing was completely inappropriate. She faced him again and was about to vent all her anger at him when the lift stopped moving.

"Sorry Rose it will have to wait." He saw her open her mouth to speak and saw the fury in her eyes. "I promise we'll talk some other time and I'll explain everything." He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What if there isn't another time, what if this is our last chance?" The fury in her eyes disappeared and she was pleading with him.

"This won't be our last chance I promise. I'll do everything I can to keep you safe. We're going to get through this, all of us." He said all this with the utmost conviction.

"Even me", Jen asked timidly.

"Yes", but this word was lacking in conviction.

The lift doors opened and the five people shifted their guns ready for action and cautiously stepped out into a long corridor with blue lighting and mirrored walls. They followed the corridor a short way until they heard a noise close by. They all stopped moving and fell deathly silent, listening. The unmistakable sound of heavy footsteps could be heard and then they stopped. Then they heard a loud whirring noise of machinery and then more heavy footsteps then there was complete silence.

The group relaxed a little, they didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. For a while there it had seemed like their presence had been detected but no welcoming party had been sent out to meet them so perhaps not. They continued further along the corridor getting closer to where the sounds had come from but now they couldn't hear anything. An eerie silence hung over them and then they heard the piercing scream which came from amongst them. Jen collapsed to the floor and appeared to lay lifeless in a crumpled heap; her bright green eyes wide open in shock.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The Doctor looked quickly about him searching out their attacker but he saw nobody. Certain that the danger had passed he indicated for the others to move back and give him space. Then he knelt down beside Jen's rigid body, examining for the cause of death. There was nothing to be found, no wounds; there wasn't even any blood loss. She appeared untouched, maybe she had just died of fright but he hadn't seen anything. He scratched his head and a puzzled expression formed on his features.

"What is it?" Rose knew that look.

"Well…she can't be dead, there's nothing physically wrong with her." He put his head to her chest, listening intently for signs of life. "Ah now that's strange there's a heartbeat and…yup she's breathing. So if she's not dead then…hold on what's that", he observed something attached to Jen's ear. He brushed away Jen's hair which partially covered the device and sat back on his heels, his suspicions confirmed.

"Well?" Rose, Mickey and Jake asked simultaneously.

"It's an earpod. Oh Jen I'm so sorry", he spoke with deep compassion in his voice as he gazed upon yet another of the Cybermen's hapless victims.

"Wait, the Cybermen can't have been controlling her." Rose suddenly realised. "Remember before, back in the lift, she was really scared. Now if the Cybermen really had possession of her then she wouldn't…"

"Have been able to display any emotions", The Doctor finished Rose's sentence. "You're right, well done Rose. So what's the earpods' real function…if not for possession? No wait…what if the earpods are being used for possession…I mean from the description that Jen gave us of the executives they're most definitely being manipulated, but Jen…"

"Perhaps her device is faulty it malfunctioned somehow", Mickey suggested.

"It's possible I suppose. So the Cybermen shut her down because she was going against their plans. She was seen to be leading us straight to their headquarters which meant that they had to dispose of her before she could cause any real trouble. Oh yes…that's it…Jen's still very much alive probably just sleeping…but she's out of the way which means…uh oh."

"Uh oh?" Rose repeated. "What does that mean?"

"Exactly that, look behind you."

Rose, Mickey and Jake became aware of a large presence standing behind them. Turning round they saw the menacing faces of two dozen executives as they advanced down the corridor. Their eyes were as steely and cold as Jen had said and their movement was stiff and robotic.

"Time we were getting out of here I think", The Doctor jumped to his feet and shifted his gun in preparation to use it should he really have to. He had hoped to conserve his ammunition for a more worthy cause but if it bought them some time it was a sacrifice he had to make.

"What about Jen?" Mickey asked as he backed away from the angry looking men that were almost bearing down upon them.

"We leave her", The Doctor was matter of fact. "I'm sorry, we can't help her."

"What about the executives?" Jake nodded towards them.

"It can't be helped, we leave her." The Doctor wouldn't change his mind.

"No!" Mickey was adamant. "We're not just leaving her, not with them." He took his gun and handed it to the Doctor before lifting Jen into his arms. He staggered and suffered a small loss of balance but soon righted himself again as he adjusted to the extra weight he was carrying.

"Right, get moving." The Doctor ushered them onwards whilst he stayed and stood his ground until the others were a safe distance away from the mean-faced executives. He looked over his shoulder and saw that his friends had disappeared from sight. The executives couldn't move all that fast so he gauged that they would be safe for a while at least.

"Well I'd love to stay and get to know you but I'm needed elsewhere. You understand how it is busy, busy, busy. Maybe I'll catch you some other time…perhaps not." The Doctor sprinted away down the corridor following in the footsteps of his friends until he caught up with them a short while later. He almost completely missed them because they were hidden in an alcove which he couldn't see but Rose called out as he was about to run past.

"Are they still following", she asked.

"Probably but we needn't worry about them." The Doctor slowed to a stop and went to join them. "I've seen snails travel faster…seriously. No we need to worry about enemy number one…the Cybermen. I thought that they might have come out to see us by now…it's not like them to be shy. Still if they aren't here that makes our main objective all the more easy."

What's our main objective?" Rose wondered.

"Well to shut down all of the Cyber conversion factories of course. If we're lucky then there will be a way of doing that from this very building. If the Cybermen have set up their headquarters here then you can guarantee that this is where they are controlling the operation of the factories from."

"This has to be Cyberman headquarters", Rose was positive. "A few days ago I was in one of the lifts when it started going crazy. I thought that the impact when it hit the ground floor would kill me but then it slowed down again and I managed to get out. It would make sense that the Cybermen or somebody working with them would want me out of the way if they knew that I used to travel around with or had some kind of link to you and could somehow interfere with their plans. So they tried killing me in the lift but then something managed to override the controls or something and I was saved. What do you think?"

"I think…why didn't you tell me about this before? They overrode the lift controls before when you were on your own so there was nothing to stop them from doing it again when we taking the lift up here."

"Why didn't they then?" Rose didn't understand.

"I wish I knew…there's something very odd going on here. How's Jen doing?" The Doctor opted for a sudden change of subject.

"She's waking up, I saw her eyelids move", Mickey spoke

"Good, perhaps she has a better idea of what exactly is going on around here." The Doctor frowned, his eyes narrowing. "She may pretend to know nothing but I think that our dear Jen here knows more than she is willing to let on about. She may even be working as a double agent; what do we really know about her?

"Not that much, but she's not a double agent." Mickey said with more conviction than he actually felt. He wanted for Jen to be innocent; he really liked her and didn't want to discover that his trust had been misplaced. He looked at Jake to get his opinion on the matter but Jake just shrugged and when he looked at Rose she had much the same reaction.

"She seemed a little over keen to accompany us up here don't you think? The Doctor was quick to point out. "Most people don't usually leap at the chance to get killed. The survival instinct is usually the strongest in humans. I could be wrong of course, she may have her reasons and if so then I apologise for doubting her but I'm not sure we can trust her." He shook his head.

Jen began to stir in Mickey's arms. She murmured sleepily and blinked open her eyes, looking up at Mickey's face. Disorientated and confused she looked to him for answers. "What happened to me?" Jen appeared not to know anything of collapsing.

"I dunno you sort of collapsed and we all thought you were dead. Then the Doctor found out you were just sleeping right before the executives found us. We had to get away whilst the Doctor held them back and then we stopped to wait for him here."

"You…carried me?" Jen asked.

"Yeah, but don't worry you're not all that heavy." Mickey grinned.

"Thank you." Jen was grateful. "You can put me down now; I think I can walk ok."

"Sure." Mickey set Jen down on her feet. She wobbled unsteadily but after a while she was able to walk properly again.

The Doctor was getting impatient as he watched Jen hobble about regaining the use of her legs. There were questions that needed answering and he wasn't prepared to wait any longer. "Now then Jen I think it's time that we had a little chat." He made no pretence at being friendly and did not disguise his stern face behind smiling. "It's time that you told us exactly what your role is in this operation; it's too late for lies now, I want the truth."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Doctor go easy on her, she just woke up." Mickey put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder, trying to stop him from closing in on Jen, who looked utterly bewildered and slightly afraid.

The Doctor shrugged off Mickey's hand, "you stay out of this Mickey. This is between me and Jen now. I want answers and I'm telling you I'm going to get them. So neither you nor anybody else is going to stop me, understand?" He seethed.

"Doctor, have I done something wrong? I don't understand." Jen couldn't comprehend why the Doctor looked at her with widened eyes betraying anger. Although she guessed it had something to do with the pod thing attached to her ear which she had tried in desperation to hide away beneath her mass of raven black hair.

She didn't know how the pod had got there or what its function was but she did know that its presence made her feel uneasy. The small object had managed to be very invasive on her life and she had found herself distancing herself from the world outside of Torchwood and working longer hours, hiding safely away in the privacy of her office.

If she ignored the pod then it wasn't there. If she couldn't see it then it didn't exist. But it was there and she could feel it there and it sickened her to think what purposes it may serve. It drove her to near madness sometimes and she heard whisperings inside her head, instructions, commands and threats.

Jen's bottom lip trembled and then she felt her whole body beginning to shake with nerves. All the sleepless nights and long hours were catching up with her and she was finally reaching breaking point. She was on the verge of tears and she just felt that she wanted to break down and sob her heart out until she could cry no more.

The Doctor walked right up close to her and then stopped. He moved his hand to roughly brush aside the hair concealing the earpod from view and then he looked straight into her tear-filled eyes. "Well?"

Jen broke eye contact with him and began to sob. "I'm sorry…I should have told you before but I thought that you wouldn't understand. Please believe me I don't know anything about these Cybermen creatures or their terrible plot. Please that's the honest truth. I don't even know how this thing", she tugged at her ear, "got here. I don't remember who put it there or how.

"You don't remember?" The Doctor furrowed his brow.

"No." Jen shook her head violently. "All I remember is waking up at my desk with my coffee mug clutched in my hand and this instant feeling of paranoia. Instinctively I put my hand up to my ear and felt something round that definitely hadn't been there before. Then I…well I was confused but I rushed to the toilets and saw it in the reflection of the mirror. This horrible thing, with a blinking blue light. I tried to remove it but it was stuck fast look", she tugged at her ear again, only this time harder. "You see, it won't come off."

"I could remove it for you." The Doctor's voice softened.

"Really, could you? Jen asked hopefully, her voice breaking with relief. "I can't wait to be rid of this thing.

"I don't know though", The Doctor sighed, "it might kill you." He walked away and began pacing.

"Kill me, how?" Jen was shocked. "It's just some sort of pod, isn't it a communications device or something? How could it possibly kill me?" Jen was sobbing again and she fell to the floor and began rocking back and forth on her knees and chanting something inaudible.

Mickey stepped forwards but Rose rushed to Jen's side before him and put an arm around her. "Jen, listen it's going to be alright."

Jen looked at Rose, her face damp with tears and her green eyes huge with fear. "I…don't want to die."

Rose hugged her tighter, lending her comfort and support. "You won't die, I promise." She shot a glance at The Doctor for confirmation.

"Right, she's right, Rose is right Jen. You're not going to die, not today, not for many, many years. You have my word. I've been thinking", he paused. "Removal of the pod won't kill you unless it is connected directly to the brain. Now if that was the case with you Jen, then you would be under the control of the Cybermen or whoever fixed the pod to you but you're showing emotion and that's a good sign."

"It is?" Jen was puzzled.

"Oh yes, because that means somehow your pod has failed and nobody can fully control you. The most that they can do is whisper things inside your head and in that sense the pod is no more than a communicative device like you thought it was. They can drive you to madness but they can't control your actions. Now come here", he dropped his voice so that it was even softer sounding.

Rose helped Jen get to her feet and Jen went to the Doctor who took his sonic screwdriver from the inside of his jacket and held it up to Jen's ear. They all breathed a sigh of relief as the pod came away in The Doctor's hand and Jen didn't experience any immediate side-effects. The Doctor tucked the pod away in the pocket of his jacket.

"It's gone…I don't believe it." Jen cried aloud, her heart soaring with happiness as she realised that she was finally free of the thing that had been leeching on her life and driving her to the brink of insanity. She flung her arms around The Doctor, weeping tears of joy and gratitude.

"It's ok", The Doctor patted her shoulder awkwardly as Rose deliberately averted her eyes in the direction of the ceiling.

"Doctor shouldn't we get moving now?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, ok then team, comrades…uh never mind. We stick together, nobody go wandering off, you got that?" Good then follow me and stay alert. You never know where an ambush might be waiting or when the enemy will strike. Now to find the control room."

The Doctor led the way off down the corridor and they all followed cautiously, looking every which way for signs of trouble. Their path was clear though and they continued to walk the corridor to the very end where they were almost blinded by the bright rays of sunshine flooding in through the glass pane windows that surrounded them. They found themselves in a dome shaped area where they were able to look out across the whole of Canary Wharf.

The Doctor didn't stop to admire the view instead a large panel at the east side of the room had caught his eye. The interior of the room was clinical white apart from that one panel which appeared to have traces of finger marks upon it and was grubbier looking than the other pristine walls. He approached it and placed a hand over the fingerprints but nothing happened. Once again he took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the area. "Ah ha", he exclaimed as the sonic screwdriver made connection with some sort of mechanism on the other side of the panel. There was an audible click and then the panel slid upwards to reveal a hidden staircase.

"This is interesting. Come on you lot, this isn't a sightseeing trip", he beckoned to them with a wave of his hand and they ascended the staircase into darkness.

"Why's it so dark in here?" Rose shivered although the air wasn't cold.

"Where do you suppose this leads to?" Jen asked quietly.

"I'm hoping that it leads to the control room, the heart of the operation." The Doctor answered. "I wish we had brought torches though, it's impossible to see anything. Don't suppose anyone has a torch on them? No, didn't think so, ah well, we'll manage."

They climbed slowly, taking care where they were treading and trying their best not to trip each other up for they couldn't see where they were putting their feet. The darkness seemed to be closing in, it was becoming claustrophobic and still there was no sight of the end of the staircase.

The Doctor stumbled as he lifted his foot to walk on the next step and then found there wasn't one. They had reached the top but still everything was swathed in thick darkness. The others climbed the last few steps, tripping, and slipping on each step until they stood beside The Doctor at the top. Weary and choked with exhaustion they peered through narrowed eyes trying to make out something, anything.

Lights suddenly flickered on overhead and as their eyes painfully adjusted to the harsh light they were met by a most terrible sight. Many Cybermen stood in ranks apparently awaiting command from the crazed looking man who was grinning maniacally from the large desk where he sat tapping away madly at buttons that lay before him. The man stopped his incessant tapping and got up to meet his visitors.

"Doctor, it's an honour", he cackled as he extended a bony hand.

"I'm sorry do I know you?" The Doctor scratched his head trying to remember whether he had met this scrawny little man somewhere before.

The crazed man snatched his hand away, still grinning. "No we've never been acquainted alas, but make no mistake I know all about you, you extraordinary little man." He cackled again.

"Sorry but…how do you know who I am?"

"All in good time, first though I think we should dispose of your companions. Oh and don't think your weapons will serve you any good I think you'll find that they are quite useless against my new variety of Cybermen, sorry to be the bearer of bad news." He clapped his hands and the Cybermen moved jerkily into life, awakened by their self-appointed commander.

"What, NO!" The Doctor yelled as he threw one of the guns he carried to the floor so that he could put out his arm and drag Rose close to him. He held her tight to his chest, protecting her, desperate not to lose her again. He would sooner trade his own life than lose Rose. He was concerned for the other's lives as well but his priority was Rose, she was after all the woman he loved, he found himself admitting. All of his buried feelings were being uncovered in his mind by the urgency and despair of the situation. She was the reason he kept on fighting no matter how impossible things might seem, no matter how hopeless. Just a mention of her name stirred within him renewed resolution.

Jake readied his gun and fired a shot but the bullet simply ricocheted off the Cybermen he had targeted. It hit the ceiling and landed near his feet, confirming that the bullets would have no effect whatsoever on this new mutation of Cybermen. "It doesn't work", he said in dismay. "He's right the bullets are completely useless. What are we going to do now?"

"Jen get behind me", Mickey barked and she obeyed.

"Kill them", the man cackled still more insanely. "Ha, ha, ha, ha kill them."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The seconds passed like hours as the Cybermen walked forward in their ranks, stiff in motion as though they were in bad need of having their joints oiled. The crazed mans' eyes were popping with unsuppressed excitement as he gleefully rubbed his hands together whilst all the while muttering, "Kill them", in a maniacal yet cold, chilling voice. The group of five stood frozen, powerless to prevent the oncoming enemy with useless weapons, but the Doctor knew he had to do something, anything.

"Wait", he snapped, "if it's me you want then first let my friends go and then I'll be willing to cooperate with you."

The crazed man considered the Doctors' words with a sly smile. "Hmm and what if I refuse to let them go? What will you do then Doctor?" He challenged as his smile widened showing off teeth that jutted out at all angles from his misshapen mouth.

"Right now I'm remaining calm, I think that you should be aware of that. If you allow my friends to live then like I said before I'll cooperate with you but if you sentence them to death then that will make me very angry and believe me you won't like me when I'm angry."

"Ha", the man gave a single, mirthless laugh. "My dear, dear Doctor, I hardly think that you are in a position to be making threats however, I will go along with your little proposal providing you agree to lend me your full cooperation and don't attempt to put up any resistance. If you accede to these terms then I shall grant your wishes and your friends shall walk free."

"You have my word. Now call them off", the Doctor indicated to the Cybermen.

"Oh very well", the man sighed, doing little to hide his irritation. He snapped his fingers and cried out, "halt", immediately the Cybermen ceased to march and they became lifeless suits of steel metal again. They would now continue to sleep until their master would call on their services and employ them for his terrible, inhumane endeavours once more.

"Isn't that nice", Rose couldn't resist smirking, "you've got them all trained like little puppy dogs."

"I'll have less of your cheek young lady", the man snarled viciously, becoming very impatient. Then he addressed the Doctor again. "On the condition that these so called friends of yours behave themselves and show me good manners and respect then they are at liberty to leave any time they choose."

"You had better not be lying", the Doctor warned and he released Rose.

"Oh but the guns stay", the crazed man ignored the Doctor's last comment. "I can't have them roaming about the premises with firearms. Drop your weapons!" He commanded with an air of authority and those still in possession of weapons hastened to comply. "You too Doctor, drop your weapons", the man nodded at the floor and sniggered nastily as reluctantly the Doctor obeyed"

"Come on guys let's go." Mickey led Jen by the hand back towards the staircase and Jake traipsed after them, not happy about leaving the Doctor to face unknown perils on his own. Rose however did not follow them but stayed where she was, at the Doctor's side.

"Rose hurry up", Mickey called over his shoulder.

"No!" Rose was adamant. I'm not coming with you; I'm not leaving the Doctor."

"Rose", the Doctor dropped his gaze down to her face. "You have to go", he was pleading through his saddened, dark brown eyes. "Whatever this man wants me for it's not good and I want you safe, my Rose. Listen to me and take this chance while you still can…run."

"But…" Rose was tearing up, "I love you."

"I know", the Doctor sighed a deep sigh and looked away, when he looked back his eyes glittered. "Rose please, do this for me. I know it's hard for you but just be grateful for the little more time we got to spend together, that's a miracle in itself."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world", Rose laughed through her tears remembering the words she had spoken whilst they had both been trapped – he in his previous incarnation - in a Cardiff dungeon as the dead walked freely, brought back to life by the gaseous creatures known as Gelth. Right at that moment those words seemed such an appropriate way in which to express herself.

"Me neither", he smiled taking her hand in his and brushing Rose's cheek with his lips.

Rose tried with enormous effort to be brave for her Doctor and made to leave. She got as far as the staircase but she stopped before her foot had even touched the next step below. "I'll never leave you, never." She cried aloud.

Mickey didn't want to get involved but he felt that he should say something. "Rose I think you should do as the Doctor says. It's for the best."

"Who asked you Mickey?" Rose glared through salty tears and without another thought ran back to the Doctor.

"There's no getting rid of you is there?" The Doctor laughed, but he was less than happy.

"Nope, you've got me whether you want me or not." Rose grinned as she wiped away her tears. Together she and the Doctor watched as Mickey, Jake and Jen disappeared out of sight.

"Awr isn't that sweet, your little girlfriend can't bear to be apart from you, how incredibly touching" the crazed man rolled his eyes as Rose clung fiercely to the Doctor and glared with malice back at the man whom she regarded with absolute revulsion.

"So come on then, who are you?" The Doctor arched one eyebrow questioningly whilst trying to disengage Rose's arms from around his waist.

"My name is Gerard Lumic…"

"Lumic?" The Doctor repeated.

"That's correct; no doubt you've heard that name before?"

"Yeah once. Any relation to the late, John Lumic?"

"Very good", he commended the Doctor. "I'm his nephew and last remaining relative. Prior to his death I was working in Australia, toiling away day after day working out my apprenticeship on a building site. Not easy with my physique I can tell you but I have no qualifications so manual labour was the only option open to me.

So you can imagine my surprise and delight when one day I received a letter summoning me back to England for the reading of my Uncle John's will. I was the only family member in attendance of course but there were some of his acquaintances there as well. Anyway to cut a long story short everything he had was left to me and I came into my inheritance.

"Ah so naturally you became the new owner of Cybus Industries." The Doctor surmised.

"Quite so", he nodded. I researched my Uncle's work and discovered all about the disused Cyber conversion factories dotted about the globe. It seemed completely pointless to keep these wonderful metal creatures in storage when I could put them to use so I reopened the factories. Unfortunately though things didn't go as planned", he smiled wistfully, I lost control of them and they started acting for themselves, massacring people but that wasn't entirely my fault as I never meant for them to do that."

"You're responsible for all those people dying." The Doctor said through gritted teeth as he turned white with rage.

"I only ever meant to upgrade the human race believe me no' one is more saddened than me that so many lives have been wasted, they would have been valuable recruits but alas now they are but victims of a slight misfortune, a minor mishap on my part."

"Mishap! Mishap! You call the mindless, cold-blooded murder of thousands of innocent civilians a mishap? What the hell is wrong with you!?" The Doctor was absolutely livid. "Those are your fellow human beings that are dying out there on the streets of nearly every continent and you're not showing them any compassion, in fact I think that you're getting a sick, twisted kick out of all this."

"No, no you misunderstand completely Doctor. I am not a man without compassion as you have seen, I allowed your friends to live didn't I? I only sought to build myself an army so powerful that I became invincible and none would dare to trouble me ever again. You see I had a troubled childhood, my younger years were not filled with laughter and happiness as they aught to have been."

Gerard's face contorted as he was forced to reminisce about days gone by that he would sooner forget. "I was always the butt of the joke at school, the geeky, skinny, bespectacled child who sat at the back of the class all alone because nobody would condescend to sit with him. I was the child who was regularly tripped up in the corridors and floored in the playground, the very same child who went home bruised and bleeding, crying to his mother day after day after stinking day." He twitched the spectacles that sat on the bridge of his nose.

"Everyone has a history, I lost my entire planet, I'm the last of my kind but that hasn't made me want to become a psychotic, power-hungry madman. You have to let go of the past and this isn't the answer." The Doctor was battling hard to gain a hold on his emotions.

"What is the answer then Doctor? You're so wise you must have the answer."

"First of all you're going to recall all of the Cybermen back to the Cyber conversion factories and then shut them down for good." The Doctor issued his orders. "Then perhaps afterwards I can give you a few pointers on anger management and emotional progression."

"Ha ha ha ha", you think that I would listen to you?" Gerard sniggered. You who would patronize me so. No Doctor, you're going to be my new experiment, the ultimate upgrade and blondie here", he pointed rudely at Rose, "will be made to watch your slow, painful demise boo hoo." He clapped his hands and once again the Cybermen jerked robotically into motion.

Rose's arms were both gripped by Cybermen and she was dragged away across the floor kicking wildly, putting up a strong but ultimately useless fight. They laid her down in a chair that wouldn't have looked out of place in a dentist practice and Rose found her arms and legs being restrained by metal clasps.

Another two Cybermen took hold of the Doctor's arms but he didn't fight back. He knew that for the moment his only chance was to keep Gerard talking for as long as possible until he figured out a better plan and he sincerely hoped that he'd come up with something soon because the situation was looking pretty desperate.

"That's right Doctor, don't bother struggling. This is the end for you but don't worry because you'll be uh…reborn, as a far superior being."

"What about Rose?" The Doctor demanded to know.

"Rose? Oh your little girlfriend. Well I'm sure I'll think of something.

"Don't you harm her." The Doctor shouted, looking over at where Rose lay stretched out.

Gerard chose to ignore the Doctor again. "Now I think we've wasted enough time and I grow rather bored of chit chat so I think that it's about time we got proceedings underway. The anticipation is becoming too much for me to bear and I wouldn't like to intrude on any more of your time. To the conversion room with him." He spoke to the Cybermen that held the Doctor fast and they began dragging him across the room to some double doors. "Oh and wheel the female in, I don't want her to miss this." The Cybermen standing over Rose tilted the chair so as to wheel it and Rose began protesting angrily.

"Silence her", Gerard clicked his fingers and the Cybermen stopped their wheeling to clamp a device over Rose's mouth instantly smothering all sound she made. Then the Cybermen continued to wheel her over to the double doors which the Doctor had just been taken through.

The doors opened with a hiss revealing the full terror of what was inside. Rose looked on horrified as the Doctor was roughly thrown down on and bound to a Cyber conversion table. All manner of sharp tools and utensils hung overhead, above the Doctor ready to descend down at the push of a few buttons. Over in a corner an empty steel metal casing stood waiting for occupancy and unless the Doctor did something fast then he would be the one filling it.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The sound of whirring machinery caused the Doctor to start fidgeting wildly as overhead the deadly, sharpened, metal implements circled around him like some kind of mobile only a great deal more sadistic and fatal in appearance than anything that you would expect to find hanging from the ceiling of a child's nursery.

The Doctor's desperation to loosen the tight fastenings binding him and escape increased by the second as the implements rotated faster and faster, glinting dangerously and scraping with an awful noise that made his teeth hurt. It was only a matter of time before the collection of sharp objects would begin slicing and dicing him into pieces, preserving the brain and discarding anything that wasn't necessary for the conversion.

The Doctor lay still again gathering up all his strength ready for another attempt. Then after a brief respite he gritted his teeth and pulled his body this way and that feeling the sharp pain of the metal clasps digging into his ankles and wrists but he ignored it, he'd had worse. There was no way he was sticking around on this table to be turned into a Cyberman not if he could help it. If only he could reach his sonic screwdriver then things would be so much easier but it was tucked inside his inner jacket pocket and was therefore nigh on impossible to get at when he couldn't move his arms more than a couple of inches at the most.

Gerard meanwhile stood a good few meters away with his back to the Doctor, ignoring him completely as he played around with buttons of various shapes and sizes. The expert operation of the Cyber conversion unit would require his full concentration because he couldn't afford to mess this up; the reward for success was far too great. A prize beyond his wildest dreams awaited him, the ultimate upgrade in Cybus Industries history and he would be the one to initiate it and see its completion.

He had conducted experimental conversions several times before with pleasing results but this time was the real thing and there were added complications that had to be worked through thoroughly before the process could begin its course. The slightest little hiccup and everything that he had been working towards for months could be jeopardised beyond his control within seconds of beginning the conversion.

The Doctor became aware as he lay still once more, that Gerard wasn't paying him any attention and that the Cybermen were no longer standing in the room either and suddenly he had an idea, his last ray of hope. Perhaps there was a way to reach his sonic screwdriver after all. He'd have to be quick though so as not to arouse suspicion and be caught out if Gerard turned back round without warning.

Stealing his perhaps one and only chance, the Doctor fidgeted himself into a seated position and realised to his delight and intense relief that if he bent his head and extended his neck far enough he could reach his jacket pocket. Quickly he began nudging at the jacket with his nose allowing him easier access to pick up the sonic screwdriver with his mouth. He gripped the screwdriver firmly in his teeth and it came away out of the pocket all without Gerard realising anything, he was far too absorbed with altering the settings for the Cyber conversion unit still.

The next problem that the Doctor was faced with was transferring the screwdriver to his hand so that he could actually use it. This was going to be the hard part and what made it even trickier was the risk that Gerard could stop what he was doing and notice at any moment what the Doctor was up to thus thwarting his plan and diminishing his chances of not becoming an emotionless, metal can forced to follow the orders of a scrawny, demented genius.

The Doctor leaned as far forward as he could and threw the sonic screwdriver with his mouth, sincerely hoping that he wouldn't miss. Miraculously the screwdriver landed beside his left arm and after a while of carefully maneuvering his arm - at the cost of experiencing a greater pain in his wrist - he finally managed to work the sonic screwdriver down to his hand and triumphantly he held it in his fingers with a small smile.

The time to make his escape was nigh; he shot a glance at Rose to see if she had witnessed the first part of his sneaky plan. A wink from her confirmed that she had and he set to work hoping that Gerard wouldn't choose that moment to suddenly turn back round to the table and catch his prisoner in the act of breaking free of his restraints.

Rose thought that now would be a good time to create a diversion because she felt she had to help the Doctor in anyway that she could. She lay stretched out in her chair at the opposite side of the room nearby to where Gerard was furiously adjusting dials and levers, sweating feverishly with anticipation. If she could somehow grab his attention for long enough then the Doctor would be able to continue to release himself from the metal clasps that still bound him, undisturbed.

She began squirming and kicking at the chair but at first to no avail, Gerard ignored her and carried on flipping levers and pressing buttons and consulting with the display screen. Rose tried to speak or make some sort of sound but it was impossible when there was some device clamped over her mouth. The loudest sound that she could make was barely audible even to her own ears and certainly wouldn't be heard by anyone else. She realised quickly that there was nothing for it but to resume her squirming and she kicked at the chair with more vigorous force. Just as she was beginning to despair and her legs were feeling really tired, Gerard finally looked her way.

"Lay still, stop your incessant struggling it won't do you any good." He spoke sharply to Rose and at this she continued struggling, kicking with all the strength she had left. "Stop it, stop it I say, desist immediately." Gerard was hopping up and down in agitation, his eyes popping madly again in a face growing more pallid by the moment with mounting anger.

The Doctor had freed both of his arms by this point and was leaning forward to sonic the last two metal clasps. The first one snapped open and then with a bit of gentle persuasion the second one gave way and the Doctor jumped to his feet as silently as possible and crossed over very carefully to where Gerard had been working away so attentively. The Doctor wasn't sure how much longer Rose could sustain Gerard's attention for so it was now or never.

He held the sonic screwdriver in his hand, poised it over the display screen and flicked the switch with his thumb, scrambling all of the computers settings and sending it into meltdown. The machine couldn't cope with the melee of instructions it had just been fed via the sonic screwdriver and immediately it started malfunctioning and almost at once sirens started blaring as the sound of crackling electricity met the Doctor's ears. Destroying the computer also conveniently overrode the locking system on the double doors and a bright, blinking red light to the right of them, confirmed that their only means of exit was currently out of use.

With a jolt of horror Gerard turned to dash back to his beloved computer and stopped in his tracks as he saw the Doctor towering over him. "What…did you do? Uh never mind…I'll…I'll be leaving now", he sped without hesitation over to the double doors and hammered upon them with his puny fists. "OPEN, OPEN, OPEN", he yelled hopelessly, his voice high-pitched in his fear of and desperation to get away from the Doctor.

The Doctor calmly strode over to Rose and released her. The bindings fell away and then he moved the screwdriver over her mouth and removed the device. Rose opened and shut her mouth like a goldfish because all of the feeling in her mouth had gone and her lips were numb and sore from the tight pressure of the device.

"Well don't thank me then" the Doctor teased and laughed when Rose scowled.

"I would have thanked you but my lips are all chapped and…"

"Yeah never mind", the Doctor interrupted her. "We've more important matters to attend to, like our friend Gerard here, for instance."

Rose swung her legs to the floor and stood up beside the Doctor watching curiously as Gerard continued relentlessly in a blind panic to try and break his way out through the double doors. Rose approached him and boldly tapped him on the shoulder, "Oi mate, why don't you give it up? There's no way you're getting out of here in a hurry."

With Gerard trapped inside the room and without the aid of his Cybermen it was time to begin making some serious negotiations. If the Doctor got his own way then the next few hours would see the beginning of the end of Cybus Industries once and for all.

"Don't hurt me", Gerard pleaded and collapsed to his knees, a gibbering wreck.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't, there are hundreds perhaps thousands of people that have died today because of you and that's just today. If you allow the Cybermen to continue their reign of terror then by the end of this week alone, entire populations could have been wiped out. How does that make you feel? Does it make you feel good? Does it huh, DOES IT!? The Doctor bellowed and Gerard cowered closer to the floor, possibly hoping that he would somehow sink into it and disappear from this terrifying man whom he now acknowledged he had been so foolish to underestimate.

"I…I'm sorry, truly I am…I'll make it right…I'll do whatever I can." Gerard crawled forward pitifully and grasped at the Doctor's long coat, begging for forgiveness.

"Stand up", The Doctor commanded, but Gerard did not. "STAND UP", the Doctor roared and this time his words had the desired effect. Gerard, trembling from head to foot, dragged himself up off of the floor and stood wobbling, absolutely petrified under the Doctor's stern unforgiving eyes.

One moment he had been in control, everything was going as planned and then somehow he had been careless and now he found himself sniveling and begging to be shown some compassion and it was as though his nightmarish schooldays had come back to haunt him. The one major difference this time though was that he was begging compassion from an awesomely powerful man that commanded people with unmatched authority.

"Why don't you take a seat", this wasn't a suggestion this was an order and Gerard now knew better than to disobey the Doctor. He stumbled clumsily over to the chair which Rose had recently vacated and sank into it.

"What are you going to do?" Gerard asked nervously too afraid to look at the Doctor.

"Don't worry I'll spare your life, but only because enough people have died already. If I can prevent just one death then I'll do it, but don't think for one minute that I'm happy about it because I'm really not. There are a few things that you can do to redeem yourself just that tiny little bit…"

"Yes of course anything", Gerard nodded earnestly.

Put an end to Cybus Industries. Destroy the Cybermen and close down the factories and whatever you've done to the employees that work here, reverse it." The Doctor laid out his conditions.

"That's not possible, they'll die." Gerard spoke solemnly. "I had to have those ear pods grafted onto them so that they wouldn't leak information to the outside world, possibly ruining my plans. The pods are connected directly to the brain it was the only way I could manipulate them to do exactly as I required." Gerard looked ashamed as the enormity of what he had done to hundreds of innocents dawned on him with frightening reality.

"What about these so called Executives, what exactly are they?" The Doctor wondered.

"They're just like all the other employees only I was the one that employed them. I scoured through databases containing information about every citizen in the United Kingdom looking for people with exactly the right qualities and intelligence above average. I sent out e-mails and within the week they were working for me, carrying out a variety of duties. Of course I had to have ear pods grafted onto them beforehand to stop them talking about their work. They became my first experiments."

The Doctor rubbed his chin and folded his arms. "Ok enough talking. Gerard when we walk out of here you are going to order the destruction of the Cybermen waiting out there and then you're going to use that genius brain of yours to bring down Cybus Industries. Is that clear?"

"Yes…I understand." Gerard hung his head sadly.

"Right then, Rose let's go." He walked over to the double doors and soniced them. The blinking red light was replaced by a steady green one and the doors opened with a hiss as the three of them stepped through.

"Gerard remember our agreement", The Doctor spoke quickly.

Gerard walked forward and clapped his hands. The Cybermen fell into ranks, awaiting his next order. Gerard stood before them and sighed. "You will not harm these people, they are no longer our enemy, and you will let them pass."

"We obey master", the Cybermen spoke in unison.

"Very good, now Cybermen…" Gerard's voice faltered. "I order you to stand in the area that I designate to you", he stretched out his arm indicating to the top, left hand corner of the room and watched brokenly as the Cybermen obeyed him without question."

"What's going to happen to them? Rose asked but her question was soon answered.

Gerard approached a large lever and with a moments hesitation flipped it downwards, demonstrating surprising strength. Then he stood back to watch bitterly as the Cybermen began shrieking in anguish as bolts of electricity struck them. A short while later they fell silent, they were no more. Gerard seemed utterly heartbroken as he went over to his fallen creations and knelt beside them weeping for his lost dreams.

"I don't like to be the one to interrupt you in your moment of grief but there's still work to be done. Your little project is terrorising nations of people and it will continue to do so unless you stop it. The longer we wait the more people will die so end this NOW!"

Gerard did as the Doctor said and no more than an hour later, Cybus had closed for good. The factories were destroyed, Gerard programmed them to self destruct and the Cybermen went up in the blaze with them. The streets were devoid of Cybermen once more and the people were safe to leave their homes.

All that Gerard was left with now was remnants of hopes and dreams of what might have been as the Doctor and Rose collected up the abandoned weaponry between them and said their goodbyes. They walked out onto a beautiful sunset and found the others congregated in the car park around the TARDIS ready to exchange happy, congratulatory hugs.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Wow its beautiful", Jen breathed as she entered the TARDIS for the first time. At first she had watched the others disappear inside ahead of her and then she had taken her first tentative steps over the threshold to lay eyes on the most incredible and impossible sight she had ever seen.

"Wait for it", the Doctor smiled to himself as he watched Jen stumble back outside again and then rush back to look about her in absolute wonder, disbelieving her own eyes. "Any second now", he counted down to the inevitable observation that Jen was about to make. "Five, four, three, two, one…"

"That's impossible", she twirled around, arms outstretched, encompassing the huge space, "I mean it shouldn't be possible but it is…it's…bigger on the inside."

"Right on cue", the Doctor laughed. "Hurry up and shut the doors will you, there's a draft blowing in." He called back over his shoulder as Jen continued to stand, completely overwhelmed in the entranceway of the TARDIS.

"Sorry", Jen apologized as she tripped over herself in her excitement. "It's just this is all so much for me to take in." She hastened to close the doors and then smoothing down her clothes and taking a great effort to compose herself she joined Mickey, Jake and Rose who were all calmly stood around the console circling the central column.

"Welcome to the TARDIS, Jen!" The Doctor introduced her as he bounced about enthusiastically – showing off his pride and joy - his long, brown coat flying out behind him as he leapt about sprightly, beaming like a child in a sweet shop. "This is my ship."

"A spaceship."

"That's right", the Doctor nodded.

"It can fly?" Jen started to walk about, peering closely at the foreign elements that made up the TARDIS, with a keen fascination.

"Of course she can fly, anywhere you like." The Doctor answered.

"How about Spain?" Jen tested.

"Easy peasy, no problem. Just set the coordinates, whereabouts do you fancy? Barcelona? Madrid?" The Doctor called as he spread himself out over the console moving his hands knowledgeably over dials, levers and buttons.

"Doctor do you mind if we drop by Belgium first?" Rose blurted out hurriedly. "There's…someone I left behind there."

"Someone? Surely you mean something", The Doctor corrected her.

"No I mean someone", Rose said definitely keeping an air of secrecy.

"Ok and who is this someone? It's not just some boy you picked up is it? Remember Adam, what a disaster he was." The Doctor rolled his eyes and then couldn't resist clicking his fingers, with a small smile.

"No I didn't pick up a boy there", Rose glared, "and I never liked Adam all that much." Rose felt her face growing hotter and she wished that everybody wasn't looking at her as though she had suddenly gone mad. "Listen there's this…baby that…"

"A baby?" The Doctor cut in. "What baby? Your mother isn't due yet surely and what's it doing in Belgium…?"

"Stop interrupting me", Rose stamped her foot impatiently. It's not my mum's baby and before you ask it's not mine either", she shook her hair back off her face. "There was this old woman I met just after the Cybermen started their rampage and she had a baby grandson and she asked me to take care of him…"

"So you lost him", The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't lose him", Rose was indignant, "I know exactly where he is, he's back at the hotel I was staying at."

"Right so you left this baby with total strangers?" The Doctor scratched his head.

"I had no choice it was either that or lug the baby about with me. What was I supposed to do? You wouldn't have wanted me to endanger his innocent little life. I was there to fight the Cybermen; he would have just got in the way"

"Alright fair enough, Belgium it is", he changed the coordinates. "So what's this little nipper's name then?"

"I dunno his real name so I named him, Nathan."

"Nathan", the Doctor pondered, "nice name, good choice."

"Thanks", Rose took that as a compliment.

Hey Doc is it alright if we give Jen the tour?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah knock yourselves out. Not literally though, might hurt quite a bit." He winced.

"Come on Jen this way" Mickey headed the way as Jake and Jen followed and they soon vanished into one of the many rooms of the TARDIS. Jen's excited exclamations becoming less and less audible.

Rose watched the Doctor fondly as he worked, tinkering away, fixing this and that as only he knew how. As he moved about expertly she admired his slim figure and boyish good looks and the mess of glossy brown hair, which he now ran his fingers through. She had often seen him ruffle his hair in this way usually when he was agitated, urging himself to think and find solutions to the many problems that confronted him. Her eyes were still trailing over him when he looked up.

"What?" He asked curiously as he sensed Rose's eyes on him.

"Nothing", Rose blushed. "I'm going to go and check out my old room."

"Good idea, perhaps you could tidy up a little", the Doctor teased her.

Rose let herself into her bedroom and closed the door softly. The room hadn't changed at all since she had last seen it. There were clothes still strewn about all over the place and the vast array of cosmetics and all manner of beauty products that she had accumulated were just as she had left them, cluttering up her dressing table.

The drawers were spilling over with articles of clothing that had been roughly stuffed inside and her wardrobe wouldn't shut properly; she had always been too busy to clear up after herself. The next adventure was always about to begin and the Doctor wasn't about to wait around whilst she tidied her bedroom. So she concluded that it wasn't entirely her fault that she had lived in what could quite frankly be called a pigsty.

She looked over at what remained of her once exotic plants that she had acquired during their journeys. They had long since wilted and died through months of negligence. The Doctor wasn't much of a gardener and Rose supposed he would have found it too difficult to go into her room to water the plants, knowing that she was gone. Also he might have felt awkward about invading what had been her private space.

She was back now though and she felt rejuvenated and alive again as she happily began picking through the mess of clothes everywhere - clothes that she thought she would never see again - looking for something to change into. As she rummaged around she caught sight of herself in the mirror and stopped to study her reflection with a critical eye.

The first thing that immediately leapt out at her about her appearance was her hair. Her blonde locks had grown straggly and the roots were beginning to darken and show through. A trip to the hairdressers was certainly in order before they embarked on their next lot of adventures - there was no way she was travelling to far-flung planets with bad hair - who knew how long it would be before she set foot in a salon again. Of course if she was desperate she could always take her mum along for the ride – she flinched at the idea – perhaps not.

Rose also wanted to look her best for the Doctor since he always managed to look good completely effortlessly, something he had been blessed with in this current regeneration. He certainly wasn't showing his nine-hundred years in fact he didn't look much over thirty-five and the energy he possessed was phenomenal. Rose had always had trouble keeping up with him as he hared about all over the place and she was barely out of her teens. Now she was getting annoyed, why couldn't she find something to wear?

Forty minutes later there was a knock at her door and she was ready to open it. On the other side was the Doctor who whistled and grinned broadly as he saw Rose. She wore a tight, white top – which showed off her tanned midriff perfectly – coupled with a cute little skirt which fell to a couple of inches above the knee. She had also pinned back her hair and applied some make-up in a bid to impress the Doctor which judging by his expression she had succeeded in nicely. She met his twinkling eyes shyly, feeling ever so slightly ridiculous.

The Doctor gazed down into her beautiful, young face and put out a hand to stroke a pinkened cheek, her skin was so soft to the touch. Rose sighed as he traced a finger down to her chin and then he kissed her. It wasn't a sensational kiss but a quick brush of the lips before he seemingly snapped to his senses, jumping back as though he had received an electric shock.

"Come on, Belgium's waiting and I want some chocolates. There's nothing like Belgian confectionery." He rambled as he grabbed her hand, and practically dragged her through the control room and out onto the streets of Brussels. Once outside he dropped Rose's hand and stuffed his hands inside the pockets of his coat.

Rose jogged along beside him struggling to keep pace with his huge strides. She wanted to ask him why he had kissed her before but she knew that it was less than likely that she would be given a proper answer. The Doctor would either fall silent or he would become even more talkative and just rattle off a load of nonsense at 90mph, most of which Rose wouldn't be able to make any sense of.

They searched around for a while and then there it was in front of them, the hotel, more difficult to spot in the daytime because it wasn't illuminated. Rose preceded the Doctor inside and they stood waiting at the reception desk for Lambert to appear. There was no sign of anyone even after Rose had rung the bell several times for service. The minutes passed and then they thought they heard the click of a door opening or closing somewhere and the shuffle of footsteps on wooden flooring.

"So sorry to keep you waiting, may I help you?" A familiar voice asked from behind them.

"Lambert, it's me Rose." Rose smiled pleasantly.

"But of course young Miss Rose, I remember you. You've come for little Nathan?"

"Yeah that's right", smiling was beginning to make her face ache.

"Is this the father, how very nice to meet you?" Lambert shook the Doctor's hand.

"No this isn't the father…he's just a friend of mine."

"Oh I'm so very sorry. How rude of me to be making assumptions, you must accept my apologies."

"Don't worry about it." The Doctor grinned. "Easy enough mistake to make", he glanced at Rose who was blushing furiously.

"I'll go and fetch your baby now Miss Rose." Lambert smiled, bowed and turned on his heel, leaving an awkward silence lingering in the air.

"Sorry about that", Rose was deeply embarrassed.

"I was a father once, long time ago." The Doctor half whispered, raising his eyes to look at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Yeah you said but I didn't like to ask you about it."

The Doctor shrugged, "I had a whole family…"

"You've got me", Rose squeezed his hand trying to be of some comfort.

"Now I'm the only one left…just me."

"You can be a part of my family." Rose's voice contained such gentleness and genuine kindness and feeling.

The Doctor gave her a fleeting look, "thanks Rose", he smiled thinly but it was clear that his mind was far away. Then with a shake of his head he was back with her again, smiling broadly his usual chirpy self. "So what's going to become of Nathan then?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well he'll need a new home and before you even think to ask there's no way he's staying with us in the TARDIS.

"I wasn't going to ask", she paused, "wait so that means you're taking me with you when you leave?" Rose forgot about Nathan for a brief moment as it dawned on her that the Doctor fully intended to leave with her. She nearly kissed him with joy.

"I guess so, there's a vacancy for a companion and I can't think of anyone better qualified to fill the position. " He winked cheekily and grinned. "But if you're busy I suppose that I can always ask Jen", he continued grinning until Rose punched him. "Maybe not, anyway I think she's rather smitten with old Mickey."

"Yeah I thought so too", Rose frowned.

"What's up?"

"Nothing…no… I'm really happy for him. It's great…just what he needs."

Lambert strode back in carrying baby Nathan in his arms and carefully handed him over to Rose who cradled the small child adoringly. Nathan gurgled in instant recognition when he saw her and reached out a tiny fist, tugging at Rose's ear playfully. Then he spied the Doctor and started kicking his little feet and gurgled louder. It was as though he sensed something different about the Doctor and was fascinated by this tall, strange man looking down on him with a mixed expression.

"Do you want to hold him? Rose said turning to the Doctor. "He won't bite."

"Wow is that the time", the Doctor exclaimed glancing at an imaginary watch. "We should be getting back, or the others will have wandered off. I always tell them, I do you know, I tell them don't wander off but as soon as my back's turned they've done a vanishing act." The Doctor moved quickly over to the door. "Very nice meeting you, Lambert wasn't it? Yes very nice indeed", and with that he ducked out of the hotel leaving Rose to offer an explanation for his strange behaviour.

"Is he always that energetic, your friend?"

"Pretty much", Rose smiled with fondness. "Thanks for everything Lambert, I owe you one."

Rose rejoined the Doctor outside, "What's got into you?"

"Huh nothing…let's go back to the TARDIS."

"What about your chocolates, I thought you wanted to buy some?"

"Nah, I have to watch my figure", he patted his stomach.

They returned to the TARDIS – Mickey, Jake and Jen had completed their tour and were idly wandering about waiting for Rose and the Doctor to get back. Presently the Doctor appeared in a flap of his coat and ran to the console; he was shortly followed by Rose carrying whom they presumed to be baby Nathan.

"Right, where to next?" The Doctor asked as he saw that they were all assembled inside.

"Home", Rose replied reluctantly. "I think it's time that I let mum and dad know I'm ok and see how they feel about having an extra Tyler in the house."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The Doctor stood at the foot of the main staircase of the Tyler residence, buttoning his shirt cuffs. He had swapped his usual pin-striped suit in favour of a smart tuxedo – for the occasion of the night – but he still resolutely wore a pair of his favourite converses despite the strictly, formal dress code.

The notion of a party seemed a fun idea to the Doctor – a welcome break in his hectic life - and there was also the added privilege of escorting a beautiful woman there. He smiled to himself – thinking of Rose fondly – right now he felt the luckiest man alive. Yet deep within, he still felt an underlying sadness that he was never truly able to revel in happiness, not even for one night.

The Doctor hadn't originally planned on hanging around for too long – when the TARDIS had landed a few hours earlier – but he had then felt he owed it to Rose's parents not to disappear off with her immediately afterwards. Pete and Jackie had been thrilled to see their daughter alive and well and had shown nothing but gratitude to the Doctor for bringing her back to them safe; Jackie had even tried to shower him with kisses but he had dodged, expertly, out of her way.

Once the hugging and kissing had subsided Rose had then introduced her parents to baby Nathan. Jackie had been instantly smitten and was all for the idea of adopting him, a playmate for her unborn child. Pete however had needed a little more convincing but eventually he had accepted Nathan into the family and had agreed to raise him as their own son in the event that they couldn't find his biological parents. Everything had worked out just as Rose had fervently been hoping, during the trip back.

The Doctor now adjusted his collar and tie impatiently, Rose was certainly taking her sweet time. There had been no sign of Jackie for over an hour either. Both she and Rose had done a vanishing act a short while after dinner, leaving the Doctor to engage Pete in conversation – over a few whiskies – as Mickey had excused himself to go and hunt out a suit that fitted the formal criteria and Jake had then headed off home to change with the promise that he would be back later in time for the car that would arrive to collect the Tyler's'.

The sound of clicking heels and the waft of hairspray from the landing above caught the Doctor's attention. Jackie had appeared looking – to the Doctor – uncharacteristically glamorous with her hair piled up and wearing big dangly, diamond earrings and a necklace of even bigger, glittering diamonds, "that must have cost Pete a small fortune", he muttered, shaking his head with mock disapproval.

"Jacks, the limo has arrived", Pete called out to his wife as he came striding out into the hallway and stopped in silent awe, watching her delicately making her way down the staircase. "You look stunning babe, that spa break has worked wonders for you", he held his arm out to her – as she reached the bottom step – and she took it, giggling. She had never felt so elegant in all her life despite the fact that she was nearly six months pregnant.

"I'm so excited Pete, is it going to be a big do?" Jackie asked as she twirled, showing off her gorgeous satin, midnight-blue dress. "I've got butterflies I'm so nervous."

"Yeah I reckon so; The Williams' are very well connected. I'll introduce you to Helen, Geoffrey's missus. The pair of you can talk shopping or something along those lines. Anyway I'm sure you'll have a great time, champagne and cocktails", he stopped, dropping his eyes to Jackie's ever growing bump. "Well not for you, perhaps next time." He smiled and kissed his wife's hand.

"Fantastic", Jackie squealed, "who needs alcohol to have a good time when you're keeping such good company. Oh what about the Doctor though, he's the only one of us who doesn't have an invite?"

"Oh don't you worry about me Jackie", the Doctor made his presence known by stepping out from behind the stair rail that partially concealed him, "I have my trusty psychic paper that will get me in anywhere. It never fails, well rarely." He produced the handy wallet - containing blank paper - from his pocket and held it up so Jackie could see.

"Dr John Smith…who's he?" Jackie asked suspiciously.

"One of the many alias's I go by", the Doctor grinned and tucked the psychic paper back in his pocket.

"Well Dr Smith, I must say you scrub up quite well." Jackie laughed.

"You don't look so bad yourself, nice change from the baggy tracksuits I'm used to seeing you wear." He returned cheekily, expecting a slap at any moment.

"I suppose coming from you that's flattery", Jackie scowled but she wasn't really insulted.

"Come on Jacks, I'll take you out to the car." Pete started ushering her gently away towards the front doors. "Rose should be along in a bit; the Doctor can wait for her." They left the Doctor alone once more but not for long.

"You alright Doc?" Mickey called from overhead.

"Mickey, yeah I'm super, just waiting for Rose. You don't know how long she'll be do you?"

"Nope sorry mate, but I'll tell you one thing, you're a lucky guy. I've seen the dress; it'll take your breath away, trust me." He laughed and ran down to meet the Doctor.

"You don't mind then?" The Doctor was concerned that Mickey was behaving falsely happy.

"It's not a problem, I've moved on. I got tired of waiting." Mickey sniffed. "Anyway I was thinking me and Jen get on alright, she makes me happy and we said we'd meet up again sometime. Never know there might be some kind of future there."

"Well I'm really happy for you", the Doctor was sincere.

Mickey nodded, "so I'll see you two outside in the car, yeah." He slapped the Doctor on the shoulder as he passed.

"Rose!" The Doctor cupped his hands to his mouth.

"Yeah just coming", she shouted back. In truth she had been ready for some time but she was steeling herself to go out onto the landing and face the moment when the Doctor would see her wearing her fabulous dress for the first time. Deciding that she couldn't put the moment off any longer, she stepped onto the landing and with more confidence than she felt made her way down the corridor to the top of the staircase.

The Doctor whistled an old tune to himself as he waited, then all of a sudden he found that he could no longer whistle for his lips had turned oddly dry and he could not make a sound. The beating of his two hearts was the only sound he heard, echoing in his ears, beating out a rhythmic, vigorous samba. Beads of perspiration had started to form on his brow too and he moved his hand to mop it but he could not take his eyes from the exquisite image of beauty and perfection that stood before him, dressed in soft, red satin and smiling a dazzling smile.

He licked his lips trying to moisten them so that he may speak. "Rose…", although he could speak he found that he was lost for words. How could he even begin to describe how incredibly beautiful she was to him, words just weren't enough. Not even Shakespeare could have found the words to lend him at that moment so he said the first thing that came into his head. "Rose…I…don't want to hurry you but the car's waiting." Rose's disappointment was visible and it cut the Doctor to see her so shattered but he couldn't find the words even to apologise, he hated himself just then.

Rose clunked down the stairs – all thoughts of elegance and sophistication gone – the Doctor obviously didn't care what she wore or how she looked. She could have just thrown on a baggy t-shirt and a pair of old jeans and have bed hair and still she would have got the exact same reaction, nothing.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry, she would shrug it off and have fun anyway. What did it matter that the Doctor was giving her the cold shoulder again? If he wanted to play silly, childish games let him.

She slipped her arm through his without a word and he thought it best to take her straight out to the waiting limo, trying to avoid anymore unpleasantness. Rose determinedly chose to sit in between Mickey and Jake and the Doctor sat opposite, trying not to glance at her frosty expression which she was badly disguising by gritting her teeth into a smile. This was going to be a long ride, he sighed.

The limo pulled up outside the grand gates of a huge mansion – larger even than the Tyler residence – and the driver rolled down his window in order to speak into the intercom. Mechanism buzzed and the gates swung inward, permitting entry. They drove up the long stretch of driveway and saw a gathering of several other limousines ranging in size and colour.

The driver parked up and everybody climbed out, Pete helping Jackie negotiate her way safely out onto the gravel driveway. The Doctor waited until last to climb out and by then Rose had gone off in a huff, accompanied by Jake and Mickey.

"Brilliant", he said to himself, "it couldn't be going better"; he rolled his eyes and jogged after the stream of people going in through the front doors. He caught Rose up as she walked through the entrance – Jake and Mickey on each arm – but he was then held up as a big, burly man asked for his invitation. With an impatient wave of his psychic paper, the Doctor was allowed to pass and he found himself in the large hallway beyond but he could no longer see Rose.

Many rooms led off of the hallway and the Doctor wasted some minutes searching through them, at one point catching sight of Pete and Jackie, but he was disappointed although hardly surprised to discover that Rose wasn't with them and continued his search of the huge mansion.

Frantically he dashed into another room opposite the one he had just left and whipped his head this way and that, trying to spy a glance of Rose. Then he heard a distinctive sound that made his hearts leap, the sound of Rose laughing somewhere nearby. He followed the sound and started pushing his way, rather rudely, through the crowd and was relieved to find her, sitting beside the buffet table, cocktail drink in hand. She was no longer with Mickey and Jake though, instead she was now accompanied by a man who the Doctor instantly felt a great loathing for.

Rose was humouring the man about something but what the Doctor was uncertain of as their voices although loud weren't audible above the hubbub of noise in the room. What the Doctor could distinguish from the conversation though was that Rose's male companion was enamoured of her and obviously thought he was in with a chance as he leaned in closer to her.

"Right, I think you've had enough", the Doctor took Rose's arm and pulled her to her feet.

"What? I've only had the one." Rose protested as she set her glass down.

"I don't want you hanging around the likes of him", he nodded in the other man's general direction.

The man puffed his chest out indignantly at being interrupted then he read the distasteful expression upon the Doctor's face and bristled. "Please Sir, do you mind, I was just sharing a very nice conversation with the young lady."

"No I don't mind, not in the least. Cheery bye", the Doctor grinned and walked away, taking a reluctant Rose with him. He wasn't sure where he was taking her as they jostled their way past other guests and he didn't care so long as Rose was as far from that highly dislikeable fellow as possible.

"Where are we going?" She yelled above the din of chatter.

"The garden, looks lovely this time of night", he answered without pause for thought. Come on." He squeezed her hand and took her out into the night.

Rose shivered as the cold touched her bare shoulders. The Doctor chivalrously removed his jacket and draped it around her and she smiled at him gratefully. They saw that they were not the only ones stepping out for some night air. Couples had left the noise of the party for the solitariness of the garden and were caught up in the romance of the evening, dancing in the moonlight.

Rose thought that she recognized one of the couples and was astonished to realise it was Mickey and Jen. "Jen Williams", Rose thought, "of course this must be her house." She pointed them out to the Doctor who gave her a sympathetic look and put his arm around her briefly.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah fine", she smiled. "I've got you."

"Yep you certainly have", the Doctor beamed, looking adoringly into Rose's eyes. "Rose there's something I have to say to you." He looked away, and then went on. "I suppose you've been wondering why I've been so cold with you, why every time we get close I push you away."

"It has crossed my mind yeah."

"I've lost everyone and everything I've ever loved, and that's my inevitable future. I can't allow myself to get too close to anyone especially you because it will cause untold hurt. When I lost you I had no choice but to carry on and with each day the pain grew less. Now I've found you again and it complicates everything, the more time I spend with you the more I grow to…" He paused taking a while before he continued. "We can't be together, it won't work, I'm sorry…

"I don't care that we can't be together forever", Rose put her finger to his lips to stop him talking. "I just want to make the most of the time we have now whether we have a few hours, months, years or whatever." She moved her finger away but the Doctor stayed silent, troubled by the conflict of his thoughts. Then he smiled, Rose was right, they should make the most of now.

The Doctor moved closer to Rose and reaching out put trembling hands around her waist – pulling her to him with a swift, decisive movement, the jacket slipping from her shoulders. Then he held her face in his hands and purposefully kissed her soft, warm lips. Rose gasped a little but then relaxed into the kiss, enjoying it immensely, melting with pleasure.

She ran her fingers through his hair as they continued to kiss passionately in the chill, night air under the stars. Now she knew for sure that he loved her even if he hadn't actually said, he had been going to just like that day on the beach. That day seemed a million years ago as their lips broke apart and the Doctor swept her up in his arms and whirled around with her, demonstrating such strength.

Rose laughed gleefully as they spun around and around and he laughed too, more than he had in months or perhaps even longer. The other couples – not including Mickey and Jen for they had disappeared inside – had stopped their dancing to watch but Rose and the Doctor didn't care that they were suddenly centre of attention; they only had eyes for each other.

The Doctor set Rose back down on her feet still laughing, then she twirled, lost her balance and fell, dissolving into yet more laughter as the Doctor stuck out a hand to help her up. She grabbed at his hand, missing a few times and then upon successfully meeting his hand she pulled him down to the ground with her. Startled, he sunk to his knees beside her and then grinned.

"You're drunk."

"I'm not", Rose giggled, "I already told you, I've only had the one. I'm just delirious with happiness."

"Sure I believe you, come on then let's go back inside; I fancy a banana daiquiri myself."

"Can't we stay out here, it's nice out here." Rose was disappointed.

"You'll get cold, look at you you're shivering."

Rose wouldn't get up instead she defiantly lay down in the grass, resting her head on one arm to look at him. The people watching had lost interest and were swaying about once more. The Doctor frowned then he lay down himself, hands behind his head. Rose got to her knees and crawled over to him then lay down once more, resting her head on his chest. The Doctor hugged her to him and the minutes passed away as they lay staring up at the beautiful star-lit sky.

"Shall we go back inside now?" Rose asked quietly, beginning to feel a little sleepy.

"Yeah probably best if we did", he sprang to his feet to help her up. "Right then, allons-y."

They walked hand in hand and rejoined the party guests inside. The Doctor made for the nearest waiter carrying a tray of cocktail drinks and passed a glass to Rose before helping himself. Then he took them to a quiet corner away from the constant, deafening noise of excited chatter. "To us", he declared chinking his glass against hers.

"Yeah, to us", Rose agreed and gulped down her drink. "And to the many adventures we have yet to have."

"The Doctor nodded, his mouth stretching into a massive grin before he drained his own glass. "Well I suppose we had better find your parents, they'll want to see a bit more of their daughter before we leave in the morning." The Doctor dropped his voice, seriously. "Rose I can't promise that we'll ever be able to return here, this may be the last time you'll ever see them. Do you understand that? Are you sure you still want to come with me?"

"I'm completely sure" Rose said with the utmost sincerity. I love my mum and dad and I'm so grateful to them for everything but I love you more. I will sacrifice anything to be with you, you mean everything to me and I can't lose you again not now. I want to stay with you forever, if you'll have me."

"Well I dunno your mood swings can sometimes be a bit much, I can't promise I won't just drop you off on some far off planet and leave without you." He laughed as a frown wrinkled Rose's forehead. "Nah I wouldn't mind having you around forever, I wouldn't mind at all." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "Come on then, let's find your parents so your mother can give me the nice departing present of a smart slap around the chops", he groaned.

"Why would she do that? Why would my mum hit you?"

"Mother's always do", the Doctor said simply, sighing. "I'm taking you back to an entirely different Universe, you think she'll forgive that in a hurry, I think not."

"Don't worry I'll protect you", Rose laughed, taking his hand as they went to find Jackie and Pete.

Early the next morning, Rose – with her backpack slung across her shoulders – exchanged emotional farewells with her parents and Mickey. The Doctor was already in the TARDIS waiting for her because he didn't want to witness the sorrow that Rose's departure was causing. Instead he had made himself scarce, allowing Rose some private time with her family, to shed tears.

The Doctor turned to see Rose standing behind him, silhouetted in the doorway. She had a smile almost from ear to ear as their eyes met and the Doctor couldn't help but smile broadly in response.

"Nice to have you home again Rose", he commented as she shut the doors, threw down her backpack and danced joyously around the TARDIS bouncing about with excitement before vaulting into her seat at the console.

"It's nice to be home", Rose grinned as she leant back, resting her feet on the console.

"Rose Tyler..." the Doctor's voice came out strangely garbled.

"Yeah?" Rose found it odd that the Doctor had addressed her using both her names when just Rose would have sufficed. Then her heart began hammering as she though of the last time he had addressed her using both of her names. The time when it seemed that they were to be separated forever. She jumped out of her seat and waited expectantly.

"Rose Tyler", the Doctor repeated softly.

She waited for what felt like millennia, holding her breath not daring to hope.

"I...love you", he finished, with glistening eyes. A feeling of liberation washed over him, he had finally said the words that he had longed to say for so long.

Rose flew out of her chair and ran into his open arms, snuggling close to him. "Aww you big softie…I love you too." "I really do…I love you Doctor."

"I know you do", the Doctor caressed her cheek, tenderly.

"So where are we going next then?" Rose looked up at him.

"Well I was thinking...I never did get to show you Barcelona. The planet Barcelona not the city, I did take you there once." The Doctor sprang into action once more, pulling levers and pushing buttons.

"Barcelona it is then", Rose agreed and they both grinned happily. A new adventure was about to begin and best of all they were sharing it with each other.

The End


End file.
